Winter Wonderland Romance: A Sweet

Winter Romance Shanna Hatfield

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 Contents

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Turtle Cookies
Author’s Note
Thank You
Preview Dear Mister Frost
More Wholesome Romances
About the Author
 Winter Wishes, Book 3
A Sweet Winter Romance
by
USA Today Bestselling Author
SHANNA HATFIELD
Winter Wonderland Romance
Winter Wishes, Book 3
Copyright © 2024 by Shanna Hatfield
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, transmitted, or stored in or introduced into any
information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, now known or
hereafter invented, without the written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted
by copyright law. Please purchase only authorized editions.
For permission requests, please contact the author, with a subject line of “permission request,” at the email address below or through her website.
Shanna Hatfield
shanna@shannahatfield.com
shannahatfield.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Cover Design: Covers and Cupcakes LLC

Published by Wholesome Hearts Publishing, LLC.

wholesomeheartspublishing@gmail.com
 To those recovering
from trauma -
please never forget
there are so many who care.
 Chapter One

“S now. So much horrible, terrible, awful snow.” Doctor Olivia Burton scowled in disgust at the mounds of snow lining the
road as she turned off the highway through the mountains and headed toward her hometown of Pinehill, Oregon.
When she’d left two and a half weeks ago, there hadn’t been much snow on the ground, a fact that greatly pleased her.
After spending fourteen days on a Caribbean cruise with her best friend from college where Olivia soaked up every bit of
sunshine she could, it felt like she drove into an arctic landscape as she neared Pinehill.
It wasn’t like the snow was unexpected. Pinehill was a short drive from Mount Hood where skiing was the activity of
choice in the winter months.
Still, so many days of beautiful ocean water, amazing beaches, warmth, and sun had left her ill-prepared to return to
temperatures hovering barely above zero and what appeared to be at least three feet of snow.
“Maybe I should head south for the winter and become a snowbird,” she muttered as she slowed her SUV at the city limit
sign.
Since it was midweek, the town wasn’t packed with tourists. From April through Valentine’s Day, nearly every weekend
their small town overflowed with tourists who flocked there for a variety of festivals and events. In the winter, nearby skiing,
sledding, and snowmobiling drew in more guests, while the summer months offered fishing, rafting, boating, and waterskiing to
entice visitors to the area.
Not that Olivia would complain about the infusion of tourism dollars that kept Pinehill thriving, but it was nice to be able
to drive through town without crazy tourists darting between moving vehicles, or clenching the wheel as she anticipated a
clueless driver pulling out in front of her.
When Olivia had left Pinehill at eighteen, she’d never planned to return. She’d moved to California where she’d remained
all through college, her residency, and then working in a practice with a dozen other doctors. Then, a year and a half ago,
Doctor Howard, who’d run the clinic in Pinehill for what seemed like forever, called Olivia out of the blue to announce his
plans to retire. He’d asked if she’d like to take over his practice.
Her first inclination was an emphatic “no way!” but rather than blurt out her thoughts, she told him she’d think about it. The
more she thought, the more something drew her to the idea of moving back to the town that had once been her home. So, she’d
called Doctor Howard and told him she’d take over at the start of the new year.
She’d spent Christmas last year driving to Pinehill and moving into the house she’d inherited from her grandfather. Her
parents hadn’t wanted it. They’d sold their home in Pinehill and moved to Virginia not long after Olivia had left town.
Now, after a year of being back in Pinehill, Olivia found herself still struggling to adjust to small-town life and cold
winter weather. Her years in California had thinned her blood, or so her nosy neighbor, Tony Mendive, had taken great delight
in informing her every time he saw her shivering in the cold.
The crusty old geezer had owned the barbershop in town long before Olivia was born. He and his cronies liked to drink
coffee, a thick liquid that more closely resembled brined sludge, while gossiping about everything that happened in town, as
seen from the barbershop windows.
Olivia refused to think of how often she’d been part of their speculation. She’d probably die of embarrassment or be
utterly appalled if she ever became privy to that information, which was one reason she kept her distance from the barbershop,
even if it was just around the corner from the coffee shop. She generally walked three blocks out of her way just to avoid
appearing in view of Tony’s windows.
“Are you really scared of an old man and his buddies who obviously lost all sense of taste years ago based on the coffee
they drink?” she questioned, then glanced around to make sure no one spied her talking to herself.
 The jingle of sleigh bells signaled the approach of one of the Sleigh Bell Tours sleighs. Olivia smiled and waved at
Bowen Jensen as he gave a tour to a young family of five. Bo was a rancher who owned and operated the sleigh tour business
during the winter months, as had several generations of his family before him.
Her thoughts flashed back to her junior year of high school when she’d first realized she was in love with Bo. He was shy
and sweet, and made her feel like she was the most important person in the world. When she felt like her life was falling apart
around her, Bo had been the one constant, steady person she could count on. Then she’d left him behind when she knew it was
time to get away from Pinehill.
At least Bo didn’t harbor any ill feelings toward her for packing up and leaving without giving him a proper goodbye. He
and Juniper, his wife of almost a year, had been good friends to Olivia since her return. Bo waved and tipped his ever-present
cowboy hat to her as he guided the sleigh past her car, heading in the opposite direction.
Olivia drove a few more blocks, turned onto a side street, and then parked at the medical clinic. A doctor who worked in a
neighboring town had filled in for her while she took her much-needed two-week vacation over the Christmas holiday. She’d
timed her return to make sure anyone who’d been ringing in the New Year would be long gone before she came back to
Pinehill.
The mostly quiet streets confirmed her assumption the tourist business would be light the next few days until people came
back for the weekend activities.
Olivia grabbed a gift bag off the back seat, slid her purse strap over her shoulder, wrapped a scarf around her neck and
over her face, then hopped out of her vehicle into the cold.
“Brr, brr, brr,” she chanted as she picked her way across the parking lot in a pair of fashionable high-heeled boots she
would normally never wear in Pinehill, but she’d bought them on her trip and had nowhere to pack them in her luggage. If she
managed to make it home without breaking her neck, she’d count it as a victory.
The clinic’s door still held a big evergreen wreath with a fluffy red bow. Olivia smiled as she glanced at the cheery
decoration, and opened the door, rushing inside with a draft of nippy air.
“Good afternoon. Do you have an appointment?” a familiar voice asked as Olivia unwound her scarf.
Before she could reply, the office nurse screeched in excitement. “It’s you!” Stacy Milleson ran around the receptionist
desk and gave Olivia a tight hug. “Welcome back!”
Olivia grinned at the upbeat woman who’d become her friend in the last year. Stacy had moved to town a few years ago,
after a bad divorce. Olivia had known the first day they’d met that they’d become friends.
“Oh! Look at you. Look at that gorgeous tan!” Stacy gushed, stepping back and giving Olivia a studying glance. “You look
amazing.”
“Thank you, Stace. I brought you something.” Olivia handed the gift bag to her friend.
Stacy whipped out the layers of tissue paper and dug out jars of pineapple and guava jelly, a rum cake packed in a fancy
bakery box, and the small box shaped like a clamshell that held a freshwater pearl bracelet.
“Oh, I love it all, but especially the bracelet. Thank you.” Stacy hugged Olivia a second time, then fastened the bracelet on
her wrist, holding it up to catch the light. “It’s beautiful. Thank you, thank you!”
“You’re welcome.” Olivia removed her coat, then looked around the empty room. “Where’s Madge? Don’t tell me you
drove off our receptionist while I was gone. Is Doctor Patterson here today?”
“Madge’s husband had a doctor’s appointment in Portland this morning, and she didn’t want him to go alone. As for
Doctor Patterson, he was here this morning, but he had his own patients to see this afternoon.” Stacy followed Olivia down the
hall to her office.
Olivia pushed open the door, hung her coat and scarf on the coat rack, and set her purse on a chair in front of her desk. She
looked around and turned back to Stacy. “I’m glad to see my desk isn’t piled a foot deep with files and mail.”
“I’ve sorted the mail, took care of what I could, and Doctor Patterson handled the rest. He left the files of regular patients
on your desk for review. If you ever go on vacation again, he was fantastic to work with.” Stacy shrugged. “Too bad he’s
happily married. He’d be a fabulous catch.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. Stacy had tried to set her up on so many dates, she’d finally lost count. Typically, Olivia had an
excuse at the ready to wiggle out of going, but a few times, Stacy had tenaciously prevailed. Olivia had suffered through
numerous miserable evenings with guys who clearly had no interest in dating her.
Perhaps one of her new year goals should be to successfully thwart all of Stacy’s ridiculous matchmaking efforts on her
behalf. If anyone needed to meet a nice guy, it was Stacy. She deserved to love and be loved as much as anyone, even if she
claimed her ex-husband had cured her from the desire to date for the rest of her life.
“So, how was the cruise?” Stacy asked, drawing Olivia’s thoughts back to the present. “Meet any cute guys?”
Of course, Stacy would get right to what she saw as the heart of the matter before Olivia could even take a seat at her desk.
“The cruise was great, until it wasn’t.” Olivia turned on her computer and glanced at the small pile of mail in the center of
the desk as she sank into her office chair. She reached down and adjusted the height lever.
“What does that mean?” Stacy asked, appearing confused as she moved Olivia’s purse over one chair and then plopped
onto the seat.
“It means Della and I were stuck in a cabin between two of the nosiest busybodies on the whole ship. They were
unbelievably obnoxious, sticking their nose into our business until I wanted to push them overboard.”
Stacy giggled. “Now that I would have paid money to see. I’m sorry they bugged you, Olivia.”
“They didn’t just bug me and Della. They were horrible and relentless. It got to the point Della and I had to employ
evasive maneuvers that would have made the military proud just to get from our cabin to breakfast every day without facing
their version of the Spanish Inquisition.” Olivia took her letter opener from the desk drawer and began opening the mail that
Stacy had left there. “That was bad enough, but they kept trying to set us up with the cheesiest, tackiest guys on the ship. One of
them walked around with his shirt unbuttoned to his hairy navel while wearing a thick gold chain around his beefy neck that
matched his gold front tooth. We later found out he was a nephew to one of the busybodies.”
Stacy burst out in laughter. Only at Olivia’s admonishing glare did she attempt to curtail her mirth. “I really am sorry it put
a damper on your fun.”
“Well, the real damper came when a nasty stomach virus swept through the ship and more than half of the people on board
got sick. Of course, I ended up helping take care of people, and then I got sick. To thank me for my assistance, I was
quarantined to the cabin with Della when we reached the two ports I really wanted to visit.” Olivia sighed. “The weather was
great. Our cabin was nice. The food was delicious, at least when I was able to eat it. But I have no desire to go on another
cruise. Ever. It’s like being trapped in a tiny town with no place to escape and all the gossiping tongues watching your every
move. I hated it.”
Stacy gave her an I-told-you-so glance as she sat back in the chair. “I warned you not to mess with Santa Claus. Going on a
Caribbean cruise during the holidays is not my idea of a holly jolly Christmas. Next time you want to run away from the
holidays, at least go somewhere Santa-approved.”
Olivia couldn’t help the snort that rolled out of her. “Like where? Here? Maybe Faraday where I can pet Lolly the camel
during the living nativity performance. No, thanks. If I’m going to use my precious vacation time, it will be somewhere warm
and sunny and Santa can just deal with it.”
“I can already see the coal filling your Christmas stocking, my friend.” Stacy stood and shook her head at Olivia before
she walked to the doorway. She glanced back with a smile. “I’m really glad you’re back, Liv. Thank you for the wonderful
gifts.”
“You’re welcome, Stace. If anyone comes in, just let me know.”
“Only you, Doctor Workaholic, would come in to catch up when you haven’t even been to your house. Why don’t you go
home, unpack, and rest? You’ll likely be busy tomorrow. I can make appointments if anyone happens to pop in this afternoon.”
Olivia shook her head and continued slitting open her mail. “I don’t plan to stay long. I just want to take care of the mail
and reply to emails, then I’ll head home. Promise.”
“That promise won’t hold water, and you know it. Once people see your vehicle parked outside, a stampede will begin.”
Olivia grinned at Stacy. “I’ll be out of here before anyone discovers I’m back in town.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the bell at the front desk rang.
For the next three hours, Olivia raced from one patient to the next. How could so many people need assistance when all
had been calm and quiet when she’d arrived? She set the arm of a skier who’d broken it in a fall. She tended to a cut on a
teenager’s cheek where an ice ball thrown by the guilty friend who accompanied him had left a deep cut that required four
stitches.
“Girls like a scar or two, you know,” she told the boy after giving him instructions for keeping the wound clean and
making an appointment for him to come back in ten days to ensure it had healed well. She walked them to the door. “Just try to
be more careful and no more snowballs made of ice.”
“Yes, ma’am,” both teens agreed as they left.
Olivia didn’t even make it back to the receptionist desk before another patient hurried in with a screaming toddler.
By the time five rolled around, Olivia felt dead on her feet. All she wanted was to go home, take a hot bath, and curl up in
her big, comfy bed.
“I’m leaving before anyone else comes in,” she said to Stacy as she walked past the receptionist’s desk where the nurse
was shutting down the computer and tidying the stack of files. Olivia had one arm in her coat and her scarf dragging behind her
when the door was yanked open. A man rushed inside with a panicked look on his face and a choking dog in his arms.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Olivia muttered in disbelief.
 Chapter Two

“A re you“Mom,
sure about this, honey?” Janelle Adams asked for the third time in the last ten minutes.
please. I need this. I need to get away.” Alex Adams shoved the last bag into the 1960 Volkswagen Beetle
that had once belonged to his great-aunt. The car was stuffed without room for one more bag or box. In fact, he was hopeful his
faithful companion, a golden retriever named Dude, wouldn’t balk at having to sit on the front seat, but there wasn’t anywhere
else for the dog to ride.
“But, honey, if you need us, you’ll be so far away.”
Alex tried not to roll his eyes when his mother hugged him and sniffled.
Feeling his annoyance beginning to rise, he pushed it down, patted her shoulder, kissed the top of her head, and then
extricated himself from her tight grip, nudging her toward his father.
“I’ll be fine, Mom, but you know as well as I do I need some quiet. Doctor Tenley made it clear unless I have some time to
sort through things, I’m only going to get worse, not better, and no one wants to see that.” Alex sighed, trying not to think of the
episode that had forced him into confronting his ongoing post-traumatic stress disorder issues.
Since he’d been home for the entire holiday season for the first time in years, his mother had taken advantage of the fact he
had nothing better to do than help her prepare for Christmas. She sent him on endless errands and immersed him in every
festivity she could think of. Alex had felt tension coiling tighter and tighter inside him every time she sent him to the store or
insisted he accompany her and his dad to some event where the noise was too loud and the crowds made him want to race to
the nearest exit.
Two days before Christmas, his mother had sent him to the grocery store with a list of essentials she just had to have
before she could finish baking pies for Christmas Day. While he was all for her baking more pies, he had tried to explain why
he couldn’t make another trip to the store.
His mother’s way of dealing with his injuries and PTSD was to pretend everything was fine. But it wasn’t. And it hadn’t
been since the day Alex drove over an IED in a war-torn country and the truck he was driving exploded.
At her request—relentless demand—Alex had gone to the store, grabbed a cart, cringed at the squeaking wheel on the front
of it, and focused on hurrying through the packed aisles. He’d made it to the produce section, where he impatiently waited for a
woman with two squalling children in her cart to choose bananas. She had picked up one bunch, examined each banana, set it
back, then picked up another bunch and repeated the process.
The smart thing would have been for him to walk away and tell his mom she could skip making a banana cream pie.
Instead, all the anger and frustration he’d been trying to tamp down exploded. He’d grabbed dozens of bananas and threw them
in the woman’s cart, causing her children to fall into terrified silence while the woman gaped at him like he’d lost his mind.
Perhaps he had. The last frayed threads of his restraint were all that kept him from peeling a banana and smashing it in the
woman’s face as the voice in his head had shouted for him to do.
Alex ended up giving his cart a mighty shove, storming out of the store, and driving to his therapist’s office. Doctor Jay
Tenley had informed him he had to get away from his family and spend some quiet time finding his center if he ever hoped to
move beyond the moment in time that had ended his military career and killed two of his closest friends.
He’d waited until after Christmas to sit down with his parents and explain that he needed time alone. His mother balked at
the notion, and cried, then enlisted all his aunts—he had six of them—to tell him he needed to be where the family could take
care of him.
Only Aunt Pauline, the previous owner of his VW Bug, was supportive. She had suggested he go to the cabin she and his
Uncle Jeff owned near Mount Hood. Alex recalled going there with them the summer he was eleven. He’d spent two wonderful
weeks fishing and swimming and enjoying the outdoors without his mother hovering in the background. The cabin was only
used during the summer months, and Pauline had told Alex to stay there as long as he needed to.
With an escape plan in mind, he’d tuned up the car, packed his things, then waited until an hour ago to tell his parents he
was leaving. His father nodded in understanding, but his mother had ranted and fussed, threatened to lock him in his old room,
then finally followed him outside when she realized he fully intended to leave. Now. Before her tears and pleading changed his
mind.
“Did you pack enough warm clothes?” Janelle asked, tugging at Alex’s coat collar to straighten it. Her constant fussing and
flitting around him was one of the reasons he always felt on edge. “Maybe I should pack a lunch for you.”
A vision of a brown bag lunch with a peanut butter sandwich and a smiley-face sugar cookie made him work not to shout
in frustration. “Mom, I’m thirty-one years old. I’ve lived on my own since I was eighteen. I think I know how to pack my bags,
drive a vehicle in the snow, and take care of myself. My head might not be on straight right now, but I didn’t sustain a brain
injury.”
“Alex,” his dad said in a warning tone.
Unaware how loudly he spoke, or that he’d clenched his hands into fists, Alex blew out a long breath, counted to ten, and
inhaled another breath before he wrapped his mother in a hug. “Sorry,” he whispered and felt her nod against his chest.
When he released her and she stepped back, his father gave him a hug and patted his shoulder twice. “Text us to let us
know you made it, son.”
“I will, Dad.” Alex was grateful his father had let him off the hook of calling. He hated talking on the phone, and everyone
except his mother and two sisters seemed to be aware of the fact. Alex stepped back and whistled loudly.
His dog raced around the corner of the house in Tacoma, Washington, where Alex had been raised, and loped over to the
car.
“Dude, in the car, buddy.” Alex motioned to the front seat. Dude hopped right in, tongue lolling out and his tail swishing
against the seat Alex had covered with an old blanket. He’d just finished restoring the interior of the car a few months ago and
didn’t want Dude to drool on the leather seats.
“I still think that’s a ridiculous name for a dog,” Janelle said, dabbing at her nose with a tissue she took from her cardigan
pocket.
“I didn’t name him, Mom. He came with that name, and I don’t see a reason to change it.” Alex jogged around the car,
climbed inside, started the engine, then stuck his hand out the window to wave before he shifted into gear and drove off into
what he hoped would be a better next chapter in his life.
He hated feeling this way, like he wanted to pummel something all the time. It had been worse—much, much worse—since
Thanksgiving. According to Jay, which was what Doctor Tenley preferred to be called, the chaotic noise of the holidays had
caused him to regress. Between being dragged to concerts and school plays for his nieces and nephews, there had been
caroling, two parties his mother had hosted, church activities, and a steady stream of relatives popping by the house. While Jay
assured him socializing was part of the coping mechanisms he needed to use, the doctor did agree that his family seemed to be
a trigger.
Alex craved quiet and peace and calm. He wasn’t certain his mother even knew the definition of those words. She’d been
raised in a loud, boisterous home and liked hers to be the same way. It was fun when Alex was growing up and could run off to
play with his cousins, but as an adult, he’d always found family gatherings tiring. His sisters were eight and eleven years older
than him, and he had nothing in common with either of them. The fact that he always returned from leave more exhausted than
when he left the Marine base where he was stationed finally made him realize his noisy, nosy, bossy family depleted his
reserves and made him glad to get back to work.
The only one who seemed to understand was his quiet, soft-spoken father, who rarely got a word in edgewise. When he
did speak, though, his mother and sisters usually listened.
Alex thought of the envelope he’d tucked into one of his bags that his dad had given him a few days ago. It was as though
his father had sensed his intentions to leave when he’d handed him an envelope with a thousand dollars in cash and told him to
tuck it away for a day he might need it. Although he tried to refuse it, his father insisted he take it.
It wasn’t like Alex was destitute. He received disability compensation, and had worked a few odd jobs here and there.
After his injury last year, he’d been honorably discharged and returned to his parents’ home to recuperate. Physically, he’d
healed, or at least as much as he was going to. Mentally, though, he was not in a good place. Not at all.
He’d been a mechanic in the Marines and had experience driving semi-trucks, but he could no longer drive anything larger
than a small car without having a panic attack. The sounds and smells in a garage also heightened his anxiety to the point it was
disabling, so he’d been stuck at home, unemployed, feeling like he grew a little crazier each day he was there.
Jay had assured him he wasn’t crazy, but doing the same things every day that made him feel worse wasn’t helping matters.
It hadn’t surprised Alex when Jay had heartily approved of his plans to spend the remainder of the winter in his aunt and
uncle’s remote mountain cabin. From what he could recall, the town of Pinehill was small and quiet, located as it was near
Mount Hood.
 If it became necessary, Alex had savings he could dip into until he could get himself sorted out, but he figured it wouldn’t
be too hard to live frugally in a rent-free cabin in a place where there wasn’t anywhere to go and nothing to do beyond
chopping wood for the fire and watching snow fall.
It took every coping skill he had to drive on the freeway from Tacoma through Portland. He had to stop every half hour and
give himself a few minutes to decompress. Dude enjoyed the frequent breaks to run off some of his energy.
Once they were out of the heavy Portland traffic, Alex stopped at a diner and had a late lunch. After filling the car with
gas, he whistled at Dude to load up, then they continued on their way. It took more than an hour to reach the turnoff on the
highway that would take him to Pinehill.
Alex thought the snow in the mountains looked so pure and pristine. Something about the unspoiled landscape calmed him.
He cracked the window and drew in several cleansing breaths of the pine-tinged air before he rolled the window back up as
they meandered along the road.
“Almost there, Dude,” Alex said when he saw the Pinehill sign at the edge of town. Pauline had written detailed
directions, but the cabin wasn’t hard to find. He turned left at the first road past the sign, followed it for a hundred yards, and
turned onto the lane that took him to a cabin that sat back in the trees. The snow was deep and the car almost got stuck twice,
but he managed to make it to the cabin. It wasn’t all that isolated, since there were other homes around, but the cabin sat in the
middle of fifteen acres, which meant he wouldn’t feel like anyone was peering at him from close by, and Dude would have
room to run and play.
The two-story cabin looked like something from a winter storybook, dusted with snow and the trees around it tipped in
frost.
From his visit all those summers ago, he knew there were three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Downstairs, he’d find
a large great room, a kitchen, a master bedroom and bathroom, and a utility room. A garage had been added to the left of the
front porch a few years ago that connected to the utility room. Alex pushed the remote control his aunt had given to him. The
garage door slowly rolled upward, revealing enough room for two vehicles to park out of the weather.
As he drove the car inside, he spied a snow shovel hanging on the wall. He’d certainly be putting it to good use. With the
snow as deep as it was, he’d likely end up shoveling all the way to the end of the lane.
Alex got out of the car, waited as Dude jumped out, then closed the door. He opened the door into the utility room, rubbed
his hands together, and found the thermostat on the wall in the hallway that would lead to the kitchen or the master bedroom. He
turned it up to seventy-two to chase away the chill, then returned to the garage where he found the electrical panel and turned
on the well and the water heater.
Dude circled the garage, sniffing everything, before he barked once and looked at Alex.
“It’s okay, buddy. You go do your business, then come right back.”
The dog barked again, then rushed out into the snow. Alex hauled in his bags, boxes, laptop, and the resealable container
his mother had packed full of cookies. She might drive him nuts, but she was an excellent cook.
Alex turned on the kitchen faucet to make sure it was working, then he carried the bags with his clothes and toiletries to the
master bedroom. He tossed them into the closet, intending to put things away later, then went back to the kitchen. He set his
laptop up on a desk in the great room along with some books he’d brought along to read and the journal Jay had suggested he
write in every day.
Journaling was not something Alex had ever done. He found little joy in the task, but he knew it helped him to write out his
feelings.
Dude whined at the door into the garage, letting Alex know he’d returned. He grabbed a towel from the stack in the linen
closet in the utility room, then knelt in the garage to dry the snow from Dude’s fur before he let the dog into the house. The
floors downstairs were all hardwood, so it wasn’t like Dude could drip on a carpet, but Alex wanted to take good care of the
house his aunt and uncle had so graciously allowed him to use.
He could already feel it heating up inside. Dude found a heat register in the floor in the great room and flopped down next
to it.
“You’ve got the right idea, boy,” Alex said, ruffling the dog’s ears and earning a lick of his hand.
Before he settled in for the evening, Alex knew he’d need groceries. He left Dude in the garage while he drove into
Pinehill and went to the grocery store at the far end of town. Pauline had told him Gimble’s was the place the locals shopped,
and the prices were better there than at the trendy market located near the downtown area.
Once he’d filled a shopping cart with enough food he hoped would last a few weeks, Alex returned to the cabin, put away
the groceries, and grinned at Dude as the dog watched his every move.
“You want to go for a walk, don’t you, buddy?” he asked as he stowed the last of the groceries and folded the grocery bags
to reuse later.
Dude woofed while his back end wiggled in anticipation.
“Okay. Just give me a minute, and we’ll go out.” Alex pulled on a warm pair of wool socks and his snow boots, slipped
on a heavier coat than he’d worn earlier along with a stocking cap, and grabbed a pair of waterproof gloves. He wrapped a
scarf one of his aunts had knit for him for Christmas around his neck and then looked down at Dude as the dog pranced from
one foot to the other.
“Let’s go, buddy,” Alex said, opening the front door and grinning as the dog practically ran over the top of him in his
excitement to go for a walk. Alex followed Dude down the porch steps and strolled toward the road. When they reached it, he
clipped a retractable leash onto Dude’s collar. They might as well take a walk around Pinehill. It had changed significantly in
the twenty years since his last visit. Back then, he’d mostly been interested in the shop that sold ice cream and the restaurant
that had thick, meaty sandwiches and homemade potato chips.
As he turned at the corner and walked into town, he could see residential areas filled the outskirts of Pinehill. The further
he strolled toward the center of town, the more businesses he saw. Downtown looked like a tourist haven, with a number of
boutiques, gift shops, and specialty stores. His mother would likely spend a fortune in the Christmas store. Alex stopped just
long enough to peek in the window.
Even at a brief glance, he saw several things his mother would love. Perhaps he’d pick up something soon and mail it to
her. That would set her mind at ease that he was going to be okay.
Recalling his promise to let his parents know he’d arrived, he took out his phone, sent a text to his dad, and then took a
photo of downtown with all its snow-covered buildings and sent it.
His father texted back a thumbs-up icon, and Alex tucked the phone into his pocket. It was his dad’s way of letting him
know they wouldn’t pester him. At least tonight.
Alex made note of a deli that looked like a promising place to eat, walked past a bookstore he planned to explore another
day, then headed for a coffee shop. He didn’t need the caffeine jolt, but something hot sounded good. Despite dressing for the
cold, he still felt chilled.
No one seemed to notice or care when he walked into the coffee shop with his dog beside him. To his credit, Dude
remained quietly glued to Alex’s leg.
“Aw, what a beautiful dog,” said the girl taking orders. She reached beneath the counter and handed Alex a dog treat.
“Thank you. That’s kind.”
“Of course. What can I get you?” she asked, giving Alex an interested glance.
“A hot chocolate with extra whipping cream, please.”
“You got it.” She gave him the total, and he paid with his credit card, then stepped to the side as one of the other
employees made his drink.
“Hot chocolate, extra cream?” a teen asked, holding up Alex’s cup.
Alex lifted his hand, took the drink, left a dollar tip in the jar, then led Dude outside. He tossed the dog the treat before he
took a sip of his hot chocolate and continued their stroll. They walked around a corner, and he noticed a striped barber’s pole
on the building. Behind the large front windows, he could see three old men sitting in the chairs, laughing together, like it was
something they did with frequency.
One of them glanced his way and waved him inside. Alex shook his head and pointed to Dude who was sniffing around an
overflowing garbage can further down the block.
The old gent who waved at him pushed out of his chair and ambled toward the door, opened it, and gave Alex a long,
studying glance. “Howdy, stranger. You need a haircut?”
Alex pulled off the stocking cap to reveal his cropped hair. Even after being out of the military for months, he still liked to
keep it short. He’d just had it trimmed two days ago.
“I’m Tony, and this is my barbershop.” The barber motioned behind him to the other occupants of the barbershop. “The
bald old goat is Ed, and the one who thinks he’s still a top cowhand is John.” The old man smirked and pointed to Alex’s head.
“What branch are you in, son?”
“Marines. I was in the infantry. I worked as a mechanic until eight months ago when our truck hit an IED. Now, I’m just a
civilian staying in my uncle’s cabin for a few months while searching for some peace and quiet.”
“Peace and quiet?” The man Tony had referred to as Ed cackled and slapped his overall-clad knee. “You came to the
wrong place for that, kid. I strongly recommend avoiding town on Thursdays through Sundays. The tourists will drive you to
drink if you don’t already.”
Alex grinned. “Thanks for the warning. Anything else I should know?”
Ed thoughtfully rubbed his chin, then looked back at Alex. “Avoid driving or parking downtown, never assume a crazy
tourist is paying attention to traffic, and shop at Gimble’s if you need groceries.”
“I stocked up there earlier this afternoon. Is there anywhere good to eat in town?” he asked, liking the three old guys who
looked like they regularly got involved in harmless shenanigans. They all had weathered faces that made it impossible to
determine their exact ages.
“The deli by the Christmas store has good soups and sandwiches, and excellent cookies,” Tony said. “Kylan Snow makes
the best ice cream in town. You can get it at the antique store out at his Christmas tree farm. He and his sweet wife, Sierra,
offer new flavors every week.”
 John removed the worn cowboy hat from his head and pointed it toward Alex. “If you like barbecue and burgers, there’s a
place that looks like the health department should shut it down about six blocks from here, but that’s just to discourage the
tourists. Inside is a different story, and they have excellent grub.”
“Thanks for sharing that with me. I’ll let you get back to—” The sound of Dude coughing drew Alex’s attention to his
canine companion. He looked over to see the dog wheezing and hacking, like he couldn’t breathe.
“I think your dog might have eaten something he shouldn’t have,” Tony said, stating the obvious.
Alex shouldn’t have let Dude wander unattended as he visited with the locals. Since the dog was on a leash and just a
dozen feet away, he hadn’t worried about anything happening to him, but he should have been. He rushed over to Dude,
uncertain what to do, but the poor dog looked like he was terrified. Alex tried to peer in his mouth, but Dude wasn’t
cooperating in the least as he wheezed and coughed. Afraid to tip the dog’s head back and make the problem worse, Alex knew
he needed professional help.
“Is there a veterinarian in town?” he asked, picking up Dude in his arms.
“Nope. Ol’ Doc White retired in October and moved to Arizona. There’s a vet in Faraday who comes for emergencies, but
that’s about a forty-minute drive on good roads.” Tony waggled a hand up the street. “Take your dog to the medical clinic. I saw
Doc Burton drive by earlier. She’ll help you out. Go straight for two blocks, then down two on the left. You can’t miss it.”
“Thanks,” Alex called over his shoulder and broke into a jog, praying he’d get help for Dude before he choked to death on
whatever it was he’d swallowed. “Hang in there, buddy,” he said, hoping to reassure the dog as he raced along the icy
sidewalk. He almost lost his footing once, but regained it before he fell. He turned at the corner Tony had indicated and dashed
toward the medical clinic sign he could see up ahead.
Alex yanked open the door and barreled inside, then slid to a stop when a beautiful blonde woman with her coat half on
gave him a shocked look and muttered something he couldn’t hear.
“My dog needs help,” he said, breathless from his sprint in the freezing air.
“We aren’t a vet clinic, sir. This is a medical facility. I’ll have to ask you to leave.” A woman in a nurse’s uniform strode
around the receptionist’s desk and glowered at him, hands on her hips. “We can’t treat animals here.”
“I know, but something is wrong with my dog and he can’t die. He just can’t. Please? I don’t think he’ll make it until a vet
can take a look at him. Isn’t the closest one almost an hour from here? Please? Please help my dog.” Alex felt anger mingling
with fear as it churned in his stomach and clawed up his throat. He was still too winded to draw in a calming breath, but he did
force himself to count to ten before he looked over at the blonde again.
The woman was tanned, dressed in fashionable high-heeled boots and skinny jeans, along with a sweater that hugged
decadent curves. If he hadn’t been so overwrought about Dude, he might have even indulged in a moment of allowing himself to
gaze at something so beautiful. He doubted she worked there, but she possessed an air of confidence that made him hesitate to
discount her.
She appeared to be considering his plea, and he saw compassion in her hazel gaze. In that moment, he knew everything
was going to be okay.
“Fine, but don’t you dare tell anyone we treated your dog. Just stay where you are. I’ll be right back.” The gorgeous
woman tossed her coat and purse on a chair, then rushed down the hallway he could see behind the receptionist’s desk. The
nurse scowled at him, then hurried behind the blonde.
Alex dropped to his knees, set Dude on his feet, and held the dog close to his chest. “It’s okay, buddy. It’s going to be
okay.”
The nurse and the woman he assumed was the doctor Tony the barber had mentioned returned. The nurse spread a piece of
plastic on the floor, then motioned to Alex. “Set him on that. If he makes a mess, at least we won’t have to scrub the floor.”
Alex did as she said, moving so both he and Dude were in the middle of the plastic while the nurse went over to the
windows, closing all the blinds. He assumed she didn’t want anyone looking inside and seeing a dog in the clinic.
“I’m Doctor Burton, and this is Nurse Milleson,” the lovely blonde said as she pulled on gloves and picked up a penlight
in one hand and a pair of long tweezers in the other. “What’s your dog’s name?”
“Dude,” Alex said, keeping his arms protectively around the dog. He could feel Dude trembling as his wheezing grew
raspier.
“Dude? Good grief!” The nurse gaped at Alex like he’d left most of his brain cells somewhere outside in the snow.
“He had that name when I got him,” he explained, then looked to the doctor again.
“I can’t make any promises, but let’s see what we can find. What’s your name?” She slowly moved closer to him and
Dude.
“Alex. Alex Adams. I just got into town this afternoon. Maybe this is a sign I should go home instead of spending the rest
of the winter here.”
“Believe in signs, do you?” the nurse asked, quirking her eyebrow as she bent down and gave the dog a shot just above his
shoulder blades. “This will help him relax.” To his credit, Dude didn’t react to the prick he’d surely felt.
“Actually, I don’t. I mean I don’t believe in signs.” Alex held Dude steady as the nurse moved back, then took the flashlight
from the doctor.
“Try to hold his mouth open,” the doctor said as she bent down with the tweezers in her right hand. The nurse edged in
close beside her and held the light as Alex lifted Dude’s head and tried to open the dog’s mouth wider.
“Can you tip his head back a bit more?” the doctor asked as she tentatively stuck her fingers inside Dude’s mouth.
“Come on, boy. You can do this,” Alex said, uncertain if he was trying to bolster the dog’s confidence or his own.
Doctor Burton leaned closer, took the light from the nurse, and stuck the tweezers into Dude’s mouth. He could tell she was
guiding them into Dude’s throat.
Alex heard the dog gag about the time the doctor said, “Got it!” She held up what appeared to be a bone from a chicken
leg. Dude hacked a few times, like a cat trying to dislodge a hairball, then flopped onto his belly, as though he needed a rest.
“Get him some water,” Doctor Burton said to the nurse, then carried the bone to a garbage can and dropped it in.
Nurse Milleson returned with a dishpan of water and set it in front of Dude, who lapped greedily at the liquid.
Much to Alex’s surprise, the doctor knelt by the dog and buried her fingers in Dude’s thick fur, giving him gentle attention.
“You’re a good boy, Dude. Such a good boy.”
The dog turned and looked at her with puppy love in his eyes, dripping water on her fancy high-heeled boot from his wet
chin.
She smiled at Dude, scratched behind his ears, then stood. Her gaze swiveled to Alex, and her smile faded. “Remember,
you were never here, and I did not touch this dog.”
“Dude will never tell,” Alex winked at her.
She frowned and took a step back. “Where are you staying?”
“My uncle has a cabin on the edge of town.”
“I see,” Doctor Burton said, back to being prickly and professional. “Well, just make sure your dog rests this evening. And
for heaven’s sake, don’t let him eat out of the garbage. You’re lucky that chicken bone didn’t puncture his insides or kill him.”
“I don’t let him eat out of the garbage. We were on a walk, and the old gents at the barbershop stopped me. They are a
talkative bunch. Anyway, Dude found the bone before I realized he was eating garbage.”
Alex thought he heard the doctor utter something about gossiping old geezers, then she offered him a chagrined look.
“Pretend you didn’t hear that.” She removed the plastic gloves she wore and held out a hand to him. “Welcome to Pinehill.”
Alex stood and took her delicate hand in his, feeling a zap tingle up his arm at the contact. Unsettled, he released her hand
and took a step back, almost tripping over Dude. He kept from falling to the floor only by catching himself on one of the
waiting room chairs.
As Doctor Burton and the nurse fought to hide their laughter, Alex sighed. What a way to make a first impression.
 Chapter Three

ith effort, Olivia subdued her mirth at the man as he tripped over his own feet, then tried to appear nonchalant.
W Normally, she would have refused to see an animal in the clinic. She was a physician for humans, after all, and she
certainly didn’t want anyone getting the idea she would welcome pets, but the poor dog had been choking, and his
owner had looked so desperate.
As Stacy took the tweezers and flashlight back to the supply room to be sterilized, Olivia studied the guy who clearly
loved his dog. Alex looked rattled, upset, and in need of a good rest.
From his cropped hair to the way he carried himself, she assumed he was either currently serving in the military or had
served in recent years. He was handsome, even with a growth of brown scruff on his face. His nose was a little too wide on the
end, but it was straight and centered. Dark shadows rimmed eyes that were a lovely shade of summer sky blue. A lean physique
and broad shoulders caused her to wonder if he was someone who liked to run to stay in shape. The way he’d so effortlessly
carried the big dog that had to weigh somewhere in the ballpark of seventy to eighty pounds made her imagine well-defined
muscles in his arms and chest.
For all appearances, Alex Adams was a healthy male specimen, one close to her age, but something about him made her
gaze travel from his head to his toes again, trying to discern what was broken. She knew something wasn’t right with him, and
it wasn’t just because of the sadness and pain that lingered in his eyes. It might not even be something physical but mental that
caused her to ponder what had happened in this man’s past to wound him so deeply.
Whatever was going on with him was none of her business. Her immediate attraction to him was nothing more than her
own weariness, causing her to think things she shouldn’t.
Olivia slipped on her coat, wrapped her scarf around her neck, and motioned to the door. “Dude should be fine. Just keep
an eye on him this evening. If you have more trouble, Angela Miller is a fine veterinarian. Her practice is in Faraday. When
you head back down the mountain toward Portland, you can’t miss it.”
Alex nodded and reached into the back pocket of his worn blue jeans. “What do I owe you?”
“Nothing,” Olivia said, shaking her head. “Just don’t bring any more animals into my clinic.”
“I won’t, and thank you.”
Olivia watched as he picked up his dog and carried him to the door. “Dude shouldn’t have any trouble walking.”
“I know, but I don’t want him to exert himself too much.”
She rushed to hold the door open, then noticed the only vehicles in the parking lot were hers and Stacy’s. She tossed Alex
a concerned look. “Did you drive here?”
“No. Dude and I were taking a walk to look around town.” Alex shifted the weight of the dog in his arms as he stepped
outside. “It’s only about a mile or two to the cabin.”
“You are not carrying your dog all the way home.” Olivia pushed a button on her key fob and her SUV beeped, remotely
starting. She pushed a second button to unlock the doors. “Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that, Doctor Burton.” Alex backed toward the sidewalk.
“You didn’t ask. I offered, so get in. I won’t take no for an answer.” Olivia didn’t wait for his reply as she returned inside
the clinic, unable to ignore the stubborn tilt of his chin, as though he had every intention of refusing.
“Heading out?” Stacy asked, reappearing from the break room as she slipped into her coat.
“I’m going to give Mr. Adams and his dog a ride home. If I don’t show up in the morning, send the search party out to the
cabins at the edge of town.”
Stacy grinned. “I’ll do that. Have fun, and be sure to do something I would never, ever do.”
 “Right.” Olivia shook her head at her friend, grabbed her purse, and headed for the door. “Thanks for keeping everything
running so smoothly while I was gone.”
“My pleasure, Liv!” Stacy called as Olivia rushed outside, wishing it wasn’t so cold.
Olivia was already counting the days until spring arrived. She slid on a patch of ice and flailed her arms to maintain her
balance as she reached the SUV. Alex was halfway out of the front passenger door, as though he intended to offer his
assistance, when she opened the driver’s door.
“You okay?” he asked as they both got inside the vehicle.
“Fine, thanks.” Olivia set her purse on the seat between them and glanced back to see Dude settled on the floor behind her.
“How’s this big boy? Huh? Are you doing fine, Dude?” she asked in a soft voice as she rubbed a hand over the dog’s head.
He was a nice dog, even if his owner was … she wasn’t exactly certain what to say about Alex Adams. She sensed he was
troubled, but kind. Then again, her past would indicate she didn’t always have the best judgment when it came to good-looking
men.
Olivia fastened her seat belt, glanced at Alex as he fastened his, then drove out of the parking lot to the main street that ran
through town. “Back toward the highway, right?”
“Yep. First road before you reach the welcome sign.” Alex reached back and rested a hand on his dog.
From the corner of her eye, Olivia saw the dog lick the man’s fingers. She might be wrong, but she thought the two of them
shared a special bond. Maybe they both needed each other. Dude didn’t have the telltale signs of being a service dog, but
perhaps he was more than just a pet to Alex.
“Have you been to Pinehill before?” Olivia asked as she drove through town. Thank goodness it was fairly quiet, being a
weekday evening. There were some tourists in town, just not the hordes that descended each weekend.
“Once. I spent the summer with my aunt and uncle and cousins at the cabin when I was eleven. It was one of the best
summers I ever had.” Alex looked out the window, and Olivia wondered what he saw. A small town with big dreams? A place
he could get lost in the crowds?
Hundreds of lights graced storefronts, businesses, and homes, twinkling against the snow and making Pinehill look like a
magical winter wonderland. Despite how much she detested the cold and snow, she loved seeing the town with all the lights
aglow. She always found something so hopeful and cheerful in the soft glow they created against the twilight.
“Do you have many cousins? Or siblings?” Olivia asked, trying to keep the conversation going. She really wasn’t great at
small talk.
Alex emitted a sound that could have been a laugh or a scoff. She wasn’t sure which.
“Two older sisters who think they know everything. And I do have a lot of cousins. My mom has four sisters, and my dad
has two brothers. So I have six aunts, six uncles, three great-aunts, one great-uncle, and forty-seven cousins if I count my
cousins’ spouses and their offspring.”
Olivia grinned. “That’s a lot of relatives.”
“It is. Sometimes I’d like to share them with someone who doesn’t have any.” Alex smiled, and Olivia thought he should
do it more often. It transformed his face from stoic to incredibly attractive. “How about you?”
“How about me, what?” she asked, slowing as she neared the edge of town, ready to make the turn onto the road Alex
indicated.
“Do you have many cousins? Aunts? Uncles? Husbands?”
Olivia tossed him a disparaging glance. “Husbands? Now that was smooth, Mr. Adams. Thought you’d just work that right
into the conversation, did you?”
“I’m not one who likes to beat around the bush.” He shrugged. “So are you? Married, I mean?”
“Only to my work.” Olivia sighed. “I have an older brother. Baxter and his family live in Phoenix. My grandparents are all
gone. My mother’s sister passed three years ago from a respiratory infection, and I don’t know of any other aunts or uncles. My
parents moved from Pinehill to Virginia when I was in college, and I don’t see them often.”
“So you grew up here?” Alex questioned and pointed to a barely visible driveway. It needed to be plowed, but she was
confident her SUV would make it up to the cabin and back.
Olivia crept through the turn onto the lane and poked along toward the cabin. “I did grow up here. Left when I was
eighteen and have been back about a year. The doctor who’d been at the clinic for what seemed like forever wanted to retire,
so I took over his practice.”
Alex didn’t say anything as she pulled to a stop outside the garage. The place was dark and seemed deserted.
“Do you need a flashlight?” she asked as he hopped out, then opened the back door for the dog to get out.
“We’re good, but thank you, Doctor Burton. I appreciate all your help.”
“You’re welcome. Just keep Dude away from garbage and definitely no more chicken bones.”
“You can count on that.” Alex lifted a hand in parting, then he pushed buttons into a keypad on the side of the garage and
the door rolled up.
Olivia could see what appeared to be a restored Volkswagen Beetle inside the garage. She’d always thought it would be
fun to drive one. Maybe she’d ask Mr. Adams if she could take a look at it another day.
Who was she kidding? She’d likely never see the man again. Based on how much she wanted to see him, she concluded it
would be best if she didn’t.
Men and romance were two things she most definitely didn’t have time for.
Olivia drove home in silence, acutely aware the barest hint of a masculine fragrance lingered in her vehicle. If it hadn’t
been so cold outside, she would have rolled down her window to chase it completely away. Not because it was unpleasant. It
was because she enjoyed it far too much. Each whiff put her in mind of the soldier, who seemed to genuinely hold his dog in
high regard.
By the time she reached her home two miles out on the opposite end of town, Olivia was exhausted. She parked in the
garage, carried her things inside, kicked off her stupid boots, and headed straight for a hot shower. Twenty minutes later, when
her head hit her pillow, she closed her eyes and pictured Alex Adams as he smiled at her.
 Chapter Four

“H e’s back,” Stacy said in a breathless whisper as she charged into Olivia’s office.
“Who?” Olivia didn’t even look up from the keyboard as she added notes to a patient’s file.
“The dog guy. Remember Dude?” Stacy leaned over the desk. “You need to come out front.”
Olivia hit save and stood. She’d thought often of Alex Adams and his sweet dog since she’d left them at the cabin at the
edge of town last week. Something about Alex, something she couldn’t and wouldn’t define, left her mind circling back around
to him no matter how much she tried to forget she’d met him.
The few times she’d stopped by the coffee shop, she’d looked for him, but his face wasn’t among those in the crowds.
She’d avoided being in town over the weekend, but she’d studied every face when she’d gone to the grocery store yesterday in
hopes she might run into him.
Her unreasonable attraction to someone who was essentially a stranger left her irritated and unsettled. Other than being
privy to how many relatives he had, where he currently lived, and his devotion to his dog, she didn’t know anything about
Alex.
Just that morning, she’d assumed she wouldn’t see him again, but evidently that was about to change. She gave Stacy a
concerned look as she rounded the desk. “He didn’t bring the dog back in here, did he?”
“No. Dude is outside with his leash tied to the bicycle rack. Mr. Adams asked to see you, though, if it isn’t an
inconvenience.”
“As a patient? If that’s the case, he can get in line and wait like the other walk-ins,” Olivia stated as she followed Stacy
into the hallway that would take them to the waiting area.
“He is not here as a patient.” Stacy grinned at her and then gave her a nudge forward toward Madge’s desk, where Alex
waited.
At least Olivia thought it was Alex. The handsome man with smooth-shaven cheeks, a cleft in his chin, and full lips made
her stop in her tracks and stare for a moment before she gathered her wits and stepped behind the empty desk. It was a good
thing Madge was on her lunch break or she’d have been grilling the poor guy to find out every detail, from his birthday to what
brand of socks he wore.
Olivia drew in a deep breath and caught a whiff of fragrance that smelled masculine and tantalizing. She twitched her
nose, annoyed with herself and the good-looking man standing devoid of expression, as though he awaited an inspection from a
drill sergeant.
“Mr. Adams, it’s nice to see you again. Nurse Milleson said you asked to see me.” Keenly aware of the three patients in
the waiting area all turning to stare, Olivia did her best to remain aloof and professional.
Alex nodded and held out a square wooden box that looked as though it had been fashioned from weathered barnwood.
Inside, the box held five live succulents that were shaped like roses. A thick layer of sphagnum moss added a finishing touch to
the planter.
“Oh, these are incredible. I’ve never seen succulents shaped like that.” Olivia reached out and took the box, setting it on
the counter above the desk. She looked from the lovely plants to Alex, waiting for him to say something.
He cleared his throat, his gaze not quite meeting hers. Hesitantly, he nodded toward the box of plants. “I … uh … I just
wanted to say thanks for helping me out the other day.” He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of where his dog rested
with his chin on his paws out by the bike rack.
“You’re very welcome. How is our friend, the dude?” Olivia spoke softly so the three people intently listening in wouldn’t
be able to hear.
 A look of confusion passed over Alex’s face, then he shifted so his right side faced her and leaned closer. “My apologies. I
missed what you said.”
Olivia suddenly realized Alex had trouble hearing. It was then she noticed he wore hearing aids, although they were barely
visible in his ears.
She moved from behind the desk and stood on his right side. “I just asked about the dog. May I go out and check on him?”
Alex nodded. “Of course. He’d like that. Every time we’ve jogged past this street, Dude has tried to make a beeline here. I
think you made quite an impression on him.”
Olivia smiled, then hurried outside, doing her best to ignore the cold as she hunkered down by the dog. Dude greeted her
with a goofy look on his face while his tail fanned back and forth through the dusting of snow on the walk by the bike rack.
“How are you, Dude? Are you a good boy?” Olivia rubbed behind his ears and scratched beneath his chin, earning a look
of unbridled devotion from the dog. “You are just the best dog, aren’t you?”
Dude woofed and licked her fingers, drawing out her laughter. It had been so long since she’d had a pet or even played
with someone else’s, she’d nearly forgotten the joy an animal could bring. No wonder Alex was so desperate for her assistance
the other day. He wouldn’t have just lost an animal, but also a friend he dearly loved. Grateful she’d been able to help, she was
glad she hadn’t turned Alex away without trying.
“I’m so glad he’s doing well, Mr. Adams.” Olivia glanced up at Alex to find him watching her.
“Call me Alex, please? And Dude is doing great. I can’t thank you enough for your help. The plants seem inadequate, but I
thought you might like them. One of my cousins is a florist in Seattle, and she shipped them here. I would have brought them
sooner, but they just came this morning. She taped instructions for caring for them to the bottom of the box.”
“Wow, that’s very thoughtful. Thank you.” Olivia gave Dude another pat on his head, then stood, feeling the cold seep
through the black leggings she wore beneath her knee-length corduroy dress.
She wouldn’t admit it to Alex, but the succulents shaped like roses impressed her far more than a bouquet of roses would
have. Like most females, she appreciated receiving bouquets, but the succulents were unique and something that would last far
longer than an expensive bunch of flowers that would die in a week.
Olivia rubbed her hands on her arms, trying to ward off the shivers she was sure would start soon.
As though he sensed her need to get back inside, Alex untied the dog’s leash from the bike rack and took a step back. “I
hope you enjoy the plants, Doctor Burton. I won’t keep you any longer, but I did want to say thanks.”
“You’re very welcome, Mr. … I mean, Alex.”
“Have a good day, Doctor Burton.” He smiled, and she felt her heart skip a beat. It hadn’t done that since she’d dated Bo
in high school.
“Call me Olivia. And I do intend to have a good day.” She edged toward the door while her brain scrambled for something
to say, or some reason to linger. Although she’d been at the clinic tending to an emergency on Sunday and missed the church
service, she wondered if Alex had been there. “I hope I’ll see you around, Alex. If you haven’t yet discovered it, the
community church service is Sunday at ten. Anyone is welcome to join the congregation.”
“Good to know,” he said, taking another step away from her.
She watched him lead the dog over to the vintage Volkswagen Beetle, restored in a beautiful shade of deep teal blue with
gleaming chrome accents. She wanted to look inside it, maybe sit behind the wheel, just for fun. If she saw him driving the car
again, she fully intended to ask if he’d let her take a peek.
About to freeze, Olivia waved as he pulled up at the stop sign in the parking lot, then rushed into the clinic. She ignored
Stacy’s smug look of triumph, picked up the box of succulents, and carried them to her office, where she placed them on the
table behind her desk by the window.
Every time she looked at them, they gave her a warm feeling deep in her heart.
Alex Adams was nothing like she thought he would be. Part of her, the all-business doctor, wondered what had happened
to his hearing and how recently the loss had occurred. From the way he apologized and seemed disconcerted when he hadn’t
heard what she’d said, she assumed it was something to which he was still getting accustomed.
The man seemed far more complex today than he had the evening he’d run into the clinic, begging her to help his dog.
Olivia looked forward to finding out more about Alex Adams and what made him tick.
 Chapter Five

he frigid morning air felt like tiny little knives slicing at his lungs as Alex dragged in a deep breath. He’d just finished a
T five-mile run, and it wasn’t yet fully light outside.
Dude woofed as they walked up the lane to the cabin. No doubt the dog would be ready for his breakfast. Alex
certainly was. He thought about the contents of the refrigerator and decided to actually cook something instead of eating cold
cereal.
After feeding Dude and filling his water bowl in the garage, Alex took a shower, shaved, and dressed in a pair of jeans
and a thermal shirt. He tossed a load of laundry into the washer before he took out the ingredients to make an omelet, filling it
with mushrooms, spinach, peppers, onions, and shredded cheese. When it was ready, he slid it onto a plate, poured a glass of
orange juice, and took a seat at the counter that separated the kitchen from the great room.
Alex bowed his head and offered a word of thanks for the meal and another day that he woke up on the top side of the
ground, then ate his breakfast. The day stretched before him, and he tried to think of ways to fill it.
He felt useless since he hadn’t yet found a job he could do without triggering a PTSD episode, as his sister Laura called
them. Since she’d been emphatic about what a stupid idea it was for him to join the Marines in the first place, she’d shown a
decided lack of sympathy when he’d come home last year to recover and regroup.
At the time, Alex had assumed, quite erroneously, it would take a month or two and he’d be fine and able to embrace being
a civilian. Only, he still hadn’t been able to embrace anything beyond the fact the life he’d enjoyed in the Marines was over.
He finished his meal, cleaned up his dishes, then let Dude in the house. The dog sauntered over to the bed Alex had set up
for him in the great room where the morning sunshine streamed through the window. Dude circled the bed twice before settling
onto it, curling his tail around him and going right to sleep.
Alex wished he could slumber so easily. If he got more than three hours at a time, it was a great night. Often, he found
himself awake and pacing the floor, tormented by dreams he couldn’t seem to banish.
However, since he’d been in Pinehill, he’d only had the nightmares once, and that was after a lengthy conversation with
his mother an hour before he’d turned in for the night. He still woke up often during the night, probably more out of habit than
anything, but instead of getting out of bed and pacing, Alex had practiced the breathing techniques he’d learned from Jay.
As he rested in the warm bed, trying to relax, he’d envision Olivia Burton’s lovely face. He’d been shocked to realize she
was the doctor at the small clinic in town. To him, she looked more like someone who’d have a career in modeling or
something along those lines. Perhaps she would have if she’d been a few inches taller. He guessed her to be somewhere around
five-five. The night she’d helped Dude, she’d been wearing boots with a high heel, but yesterday, when he’d stopped to take
her the succulent plants, she’d had on sensible shoes with a thick sole that looked like something he’d expect a doctor to wear.
Olivia had seemed pleased with the rose-shaped succulents. Although he’d hated to call one of his relatives for advice,
when he landed on the idea of giving Olivia something in thanks for her care of Dude, he knew his cousin Sharon would have
good suggestions beyond a bouquet of flowers. When he’d described what had happened to the dog and the doctor’s assistance,
Sharon had asked him detailed questions about what Olivia looked like, her age, what she’d been wearing, even the vehicle
she drove, then said she’d ship him something.
She already had Alex’s credit card number on file for sending his mother and sisters flowers for their birthdays. It always
made it convenient when he was in the Marines to not have to worry about trying to remember to mail a gift, knowing Sharon
had him covered.
Alex had thought the succulents were unique when he’d opened the box from Sharon. If Olivia’s reaction could be trusted,
he thought she’d liked them too.
 He knew he’d pegged her correctly as a good person when she asked if she could check on Dude. The dog acted like
they’d come to Pinehill just so Olivia could be his new best friend. It took a lot of tugging on the leash to get Dude to run past
the clinic on the few mornings they’d jogged past it.
It amazed Alex how much information the dog retained, but no one ever accused him of being a dummy. Just because he
failed his service dog training didn’t mean he wasn’t smart.
Despite telling Dude they had no reason to visit Olivia on their morning runs, Alex secretly wished he could think of an
excuse. He’d seen her around town a few times. Once, she was leaving the coffee shop and didn’t see him walking beneath the
shadows provided by an awning across the street. Another day, he’d seen her in the grocery store when he’d popped in to get
the ingredients to make tacos.
Olivia seemed well liked and respected in Pinehill, at least from the little he’d observed. She was friendly and greeted
people she appeared to know with a genuine, warm smile. It made him want to be in her circle of friends for no other reason
than earning one of those smiles for himself.
Who was he kidding?
Olivia Burton was miles out of his league. Not only that, but Alex had more baggage than an airport carousel. Even if he
was looking to get into a relationship, which he absolutely wasn’t, he had nothing to offer. Not a job. Not a home. No security
or stability.
He couldn’t exactly walk up to a woman and say “I think you’re lovely and smart, and I’d like to get to know you better,
but fair warning, I’m prone to anxiety attacks, freak out at loud noises, and have trauma-induced insomnia. I might inadvertently
start a fight at the store, yell at someone who cuts me off in traffic, or refuse to leave the house on any given day. Want to go out
with me?”
Derisively snorting at the thought of having such a conversation with anyone, he hated that every word of it was true. There
were days he felt crippled by anxiety. He battled depression and had to work to keep his sudden flares of anger from erupting.
Oh, yeah. He was quite a catch these days.
Not that he’d considered himself a catch before his world had exploded around him. He’d dated some in high school,
although not extensively. There was a nice girl in the science club he liked. His friends made fun of him for asking her to the
junior prom, but she’d surprised them all when she’d arrived without her glasses, wearing a deep blue dress that was by far the
prettiest one at the dance. They’d dated on and off until they graduated, then he’d enlisted. He’d seen her once before she left
for college in New York, and that was the last he heard from her.
Once he was with the Marines, Alex dated a girl now and then but knew it was pointless to get into a relationship when he
was just going to leave again soon. During all those years he was in the military, he felt like he’d missed out on the lessons
young people learn about dating. Were there rules one needed to follow? And if so, where could he find them?
It certainly wasn’t something he’d look up on the Internet, although the answers he’d find there were likely more accurate
than any advice his family might give him.
Why was he thinking about relationships and romance, anyway? No one would want to waste their time with him now that
he was … damaged.
Alex sighed as he settled into a recliner and looked out the window. Fluffy snowflakes began to drift down from the sky.
The beauty of the area was breathtaking. One afternoon, he’d taken a hike up a mountain, and the view when he reached the top
was unlike anything he’d ever seen. Snowcapped trees, a frozen lake, and snow as far as he could see were dazzling. He’d
snapped several photos with his phone and sent his favorite image to his father. His dad had texted back a brief reply about
God’s handiwork that had made Alex glad he’d sent it.
Alex thought about Olivia’s invitation to church. He hadn’t felt like going last Sunday, but maybe he’d give it a try this
week. He’d seen the church on one of his walks through town. Perhaps it would give him a greater sense of normalcy to try
attending the service.
Or maybe he was just thinking about going because Olivia would be there.
Alex shook his head, hoping it might dislodge thoughts of the doctor. It seemed he spent far too much time thinking about
her since the night she’d helped Dude, but it was pointless and ridiculous.
He just needed to find other things to occupy his mind and time. At the top of his list was to come up with something he
could do to earn money. He knew he’d never drive a truck again, and he was okay with that. What he hated to give up was his
work as a mechanic. Maybe he could ease into it, working a few hours a day for a while and gradually adding more, but who
would hire him? Besides, it wasn’t like there was an abundance of garages in Pinehill.
There were three gas stations in town, and only one of them had what appeared to be a garage attached to it. The other day
when he’d walked by, it had been closed, even though it was the middle of the day.
Perhaps the next time he got waylaid by Tony at the barbershop, he’d ask him about mechanic positions in town.
Then again, Alex wasn’t planning to stay in Pinehill indefinitely. Just until spring arrived, maybe through May at the latest.
He didn’t want to interfere with his aunt and uncle’s summer vacation plans to spend time at the cabin.
That gave him almost five months to get his act together and figure out a direction for his life.
 Alex glanced at the clock on the wall and took out his phone. He had an appointment with Jay in a few minutes. He found it
helpful to continue his therapy sessions, even when he wasn’t in the Tacoma area. Jay called right on time, and Alex leaned
back in the chair. For thirty minutes, they discussed how he was doing, if he was continuing the coping exercises Jay had given
him, and if he’d been writing in his journal.
“You’ve got to stop being so hard on yourself, Alex. You’re smart and a good person, and my daughters have mentioned
that you aren’t half bad to look at. Just give yourself time and grace. One day you are going to wake up and realize you’ve come
out on the other side of a life-altering experience.”
Alex didn’t know what to say, so he nodded slowly. “Thanks, Jay.”
“I’ve heard it’s a pretty area there, Alex. Just enjoy life for a while instead of worrying about what you think you should be
doing or what others might tell you to do.” Jay grinned at him. “I can see snow falling outside your window. My homework for
you this week, in addition to the usual stuff, is to build a snowman. I want you to text me a photo as proof.”
“Man, are you kidding me? I’m not ten and home from school on winter break.”
“Fully aware of that fact, Alex. Just build the snowman and send me the photo before next Wednesday.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “Fine. Anything else?”
“I want you to put yourself into at least one social situation before we talk next week. It can be one-on-one or a group
setting. You mentioned attending the church service. That would count.”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”
“What you can do is anything you set your mind to, Alex. Don’t ever lose sight of that.”
“Thanks, Jay. Talk to you next week.”
“Bye.”
Alex disconnected the call and turned so he could watch the snow for a while. Just sitting like a lump wasn’t getting
anything accomplished. He went over to his laptop and searched through online job listings for Pinehill. He didn’t see anything
he thought he could do. Rather than dwell on it, he got up and tossed his clothes into the dryer, found a book he hadn’t yet read,
and returned to the recliner.
After reading the same page four times, he gave up and decided to go for a walk.
“Dude, you want to come?” Alex asked, but the dog didn’t even open his eyes.
“Okay, but you’ll miss out on some squirrel chasing opportunities, buddy.”
Dude made a grunting sound and shifted slightly in his bed.
Alex waited until he had on his boots and coat before he shooed Dude into the bed he had for him in the garage. He didn’t
think the dog would hurt anything in the cabin, but he wasn’t taking any chances. The garage was insulated and heated, so Dude
would be just fine there until he returned.
Alex pulled on a stocking cap against the freezing temperatures and started down the lane to the road. He walked into town
and made his way to the downtown area. He’d avoided it all weekend, like the old guys at the barbershop had advised, but he
was curious to explore some of the shops. A store named The Mad Hatter offered every type of hat anyone could ever want,
from cowboy hats and fleece-lined stocking caps to top hats, fedoras, bowlers, and even some lace-covered bonnets that
looked like something from the Victorian era.
He stopped in the Christmas store and found a wooden winter wonderland sign that made him think of Olivia Burton,
although he had no idea why it brought her to mind. By the time he’d wandered through the store twice, his stomach was
growling.
The deli next door seemed like a good place to grab lunch. Alex had barely stepped inside when he spied Olivia standing
in line.
A need to flee before she spied him swept over him, which was why he forced himself to walk across the deli and get in
line behind her.
“Oh, hello,” she said, when she glanced behind her and noticed him. “Is Dude outside?” She looked toward the door, like
she was far more interested in his dog than him. He didn’t know whether to be insulted or pleased.
“He’s at home, napping.” Alex looked from Olivia to the menu board behind the front counter on the wall.
“Napping?” Olivia asked, then placed her order since it was her turn. She waited until Alex had placed his order to
resume their conversation.
“Are you in a hurry?” Olivia asked as they looked around the deli that still had plenty of seats available. It appeared the
lunch rush had not yet arrived.
“Not particularly. Dude is fine in the garage for a while. He’s got his food, water, bed, and some toys there to keep him
busy.” Alex felt like he was rambling, and he never rambled. In fact, he generally erred on the side of saying too little.
Something about the delightful doctor seemed to throw him completely off his game. Not that he had any game to start with.
“Is he doing well?” Olivia asked, looking concerned. “No more choking incidents.”
“No. He’s great. I think I wore him out on our run this morning.”
She cocked an eyebrow as she led the way to a table in the corner. Alex had planned to get his lunch to go and eat it at
home, but here he was, holding out Olivia’s chair while she took a seat like it was the most natural thing in the world.
In spite of his reservations, he relaxed and let himself enjoy the opportunity of getting to know her better.
“Where do you run?” Olivia asked as she shrugged out of her coat and draped it over the back of her chair.
Alex removed his jacket, stuffed his stocking cap into a pocket, then straightened and took a seat in the chair across from
Olivia. “I try to get in five miles, five days a week. I’ve been jogging in a loop around Pinehill that comes out to be right at five
miles.”
“Impressive, especially considering how cold it’s been the past few mornings. When I got up this morning and saw it was
negative four, I seriously considered hibernating.”
Alex chuckled and leaned back as a server arrived with their orders. He’d chosen a hearty bowl of chicken dumpling soup
with a turkey and cheddar panini. Olivia had a cup of tomato tortellini soup with half a grilled cheese sandwich.
“If no one has told you, the deli has the best sandwiches and soup, and their cookies are fantastic.”
“The old guys from the barbershop mentioned this was a good place to eat, but it’s the first time I’ve been here,” Alex
said, taking a bite of his sandwich. It was even better than he’d hoped it would be.
“Have you spent a lot of time talking to Tony, Ed, and John?” Olivia asked, dipping the corner of her sandwich into her
cup of soup before taking a bite.
“Not much,” Alex said after wiping his mouth on a napkin. “They flagged me down a few times to visit. They keep an eye
on everything going on, don’t they?”
Olivia muttered something he couldn’t hear. In fact, the deli was getting busier, and as it did, the volume increased until
Alex strained to listen to Olivia, trying to filter her voice from the clink of silverware, the hum of conversation, and the creak
of the door as it opened and shut.
He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and listened with his right ear. There it was. He could pick out her smooth,
soothing voice.
When he glanced at her, he saw her studying him as she spoke about the winter festival coming up the following week.
“What’s the thing about the wishes and the snowman?” Alex asked. He’d seen posters all around town advertising an
assortment of events, including everything from snow bike races to a snowman-building contest. Too bad the assignment Jay
gave him to build a snowman wasn’t next week, or he might even consider entering the competition.
Not likely, though. That would involve going out in the crowds and putting himself in the public eye, and those were two
things he tried to avoid.
“During the festival, people can write a wish on a piece of dissolving paper and pack it into a snowball. The snowballs
are then piled together to form an enormous snowman. The local legend is that by the time the snowman melts and the paper
dissolves, the wish will come true.”
“Have you ever made a wish?” Alex asked as he spooned a bite of the hearty soup.
Olivia nodded with a faraway look in her eyes. “Once. I guess in a way it came true, just not like I was expecting.”
“It seems like life has a way of unfolding unexpectedly,” he said, then wished he’d kept his thoughts to himself.
As though she sensed a need to change topics, Olivia smiled. “Have you gone out to Ky and Sierra Snow’s farm yet?”
“Not yet, but I’ve heard they have good ice cream.”
“The best, along with a great antique shop and reindeer. It’s also the place most people around here go to get Christmas
trees.”
“Did you get your tree there?” Alex asked, wondering if Olivia preferred a fir or pine tree.
Her gaze dropped to her soup cup, and she toyed with her spoon, stirring it around and around through the creamy liquid.
“I, uh … I didn’t do a tree for Christmas.”
“You didn’t? Is it a religious thing? Allergy?” As much as Alex’s family drove him bonkers, he couldn’t imagine the
holidays without the fragrance of a big Douglas fir filling the house, or the hodgepodge assortment of ornaments his mother
insisted on hanging on each and every branch that included poorly crafted reindeer and snowmen he and his sisters had made in
grade school.
“No, nothing like that. I went on a cruise for two weeks and decided since I was going to be gone for Christmas, it was
silly to buy a tree or decorate. We did decorate the office, but the tree we have there is fake in case someone who comes in is
allergic.”
Alex looked at her, from her sun-streaked hair to her sun-kissed cheeks, and realized her tan wasn’t from a booth but from
a sunny, warm location. “Where was the cruise?”
“Caribbean. It was awesome to be somewhere I didn’t have to put on four layers of clothes and hug a heater to stay
warm.”
He grinned. “If you hate the cold, why are you in Pinehill?”
“Because I felt like this was where I needed to be. I know that sounds crazy. I had a job in a sunny, warm, it-never-snows-
here city in California, but when Doctor Howard called about wanting to retire, something just nudged me to come back home.”
“I’m grateful it did, otherwise you wouldn’t have been here to save Dude.”
 Olivia nodded. “I’m glad we could help him.” She pointed her spoon at him. “Tell me more about you. I know you’re
staying at your uncle’s cabin, but what brought you here? Are you still in the military?”
Alex started to ask how she could possibly know that part of his past, but he supposed the haircut and his posture gave him
away. He took the last bite of his sandwich and chewed it while he gathered his thoughts.
“I joined the Marines when I got out of high school. Eight months ago, the truck I was driving hit an IED in the road and
exploded. Injuries prevented me from returning to my work, so I was honorably discharged and sent home to recuperate. I
guess you could say I’m taking longer than some to adjust to civilian life. It was recommended I find somewhere peaceful for a
few months, and my aunt suggested I come here.”
Olivia’s hand settled on top of his, and she gave it a sympathetic squeeze. “I’m sorry you went through that, Alex. I can’t
even imagine how terrible it would be. What did you do in the Marines? The type of work, I mean?”
“I started out driving trucks, then I took some training and ended up as a mechanic. We needed to move several vehicles
and needed extra drivers, so I was driving one. There were six soldiers riding in the back and one up front with me. The one
with me and two in the back were killed. The others had various injuries.” Alex couldn’t bring himself to tell her he felt like
he’d killed his friends that day by hitting the IED. The trucks in front of him hadn’t hit it, so why had he? Had he taken his eyes
off the road as he and Jeremy joked with each other as he drove?
Alex had replayed the moment over and over in his mind until he thought it might drive him mad. Had there been a sign that
he’d missed, some clue that he was about to drive over a device that would shoot the truck up into the air and rip it into pieces
of twisted metal?
Jay had told him many times he couldn’t dwell on the what-ifs because they accomplished nothing. Alex knew it was true,
but he still couldn’t keep from wondering what he could have done differently.
“And your injuries, Alex? Is that what happened to your hearing?” she asked.
Well, there went his hope she hadn’t noticed his hearing impairment. He’d asked the audiologist to fit him with in-the-ear
hearing aids that wouldn’t be as conspicuous as those that looped around behind his ears. Despite the sound it amplified, he
still struggled to hear, especially if someone spoke on his left side.
“My left side took the brunt of my injuries. I can hear a little out of my left ear, but not much, and I also have a bit of
trouble with my right ear. The vision in my left eye is vastly diminished. I can still see to drive, but it took months to adjust to
no longer having the vision in it I once did.” Alex wore a contact in his left eye and it helped, but the eye doctor assured him
he’d always have a little blurriness to his vision.
“Do you have ringing in your ears? Experience other symptoms?” she asked, switching into medical professional mode.
Alex didn’t want or need her to think of him as a patient. He much preferred to just be her friend.
However, he didn’t want to act as bristly as he felt, so he told her the truth. “My ear rings all the time. Sometimes it’s so
loud, it’s nearly unbearable. You know when you were a kid and you held a shell to your ear to listen to the ocean?”
At her nod, he continued. “Well, sometimes it sounds like that, only amplified about a hundred times. I’ve also had vertigo
issues since the explosion. I can’t even climb up on a step stool without losing my balance. I used to love to ski, both snow and
water, but I can’t do either anymore. My balance just isn’t there.”
“Did you sustain other injuries?” she asked as her eyes scanned over him, as though searching for visible scars.
The worst scars he’d gained that day weren’t visible, but he carried them in his heart and likely always would.
“I had some burns. Embedded shrapnel. Nothing that didn’t heal after a month or two. I was the lucky one of everyone in
the truck that day. Two of the other survivors have prosthetic limbs, and one is in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist
down.” Alex sighed. “I’m sorry. This is a terrible conversation for lunch. Tell me more about Pinehill and this festival thing
next week.”
Relieved when Olivia gave him the highlights of the festival and shared some of her favorite things to do in town, Alex
leaned back in his chair and enjoyed the cadence of her voice and the animated way she spoke about her hometown. She might
act like she hated living in Pinehill, but he could tell her roots ran deep in the small mountain town.
While she finished the last few bites of her sandwich and soup, Alex purchased half a dozen assorted cookies and brought
them back to the table.
“As a doctor who tries to eat healthy ninety percent of the time, I should discourage you from indulging in these.” Olivia
chose a sugar cookie frosted to look like a polar bear. “But as someone who can never pass up these cookies, thank you for the
treat.”
“My pleasure,” Alex said, biting into a thick bar cookie loaded with chocolate chips, white chocolate chunks, almonds,
and cranberries. “You’re right. This is great.”
“I would never, ever steer you wrong when it comes to sweets, sir. That’s serious business.” Olivia grinned before she bit
off the polar bear’s head and closed her eyes as she savored the cookie. “So good.”
Alex could have spent all day just watching her, observing the way she tilted her head when she was thinking or the way
she tucked her hair behind her ear as she spoke, but he instead finished his cookie and the bottle of iced tea he’d ordered, then
dumped their trash in the garbage and set the tray with their dishes in the slot by the door.
 “Did you walk?” Olivia asked as they stepped outside. She hurried to pull on her gloves and wrap a thick scarf around her
neck.
Alex shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching out and adjusting it for her. He was afraid if he did that, he
might do something completely stupid and inappropriate, like brush his fingers over her cheek. It appeared like it would feel
silky to the touch.
“I did walk. How about you?” he asked, glancing around for her SUV.
“I walked, although I’d much rather have my nice warm vehicle to get into. I volunteered to run to the post office to drop
off some mail and stopped by the deli on my way back to the clinic.”
“Want me to walk you back?” Alex asked, more than happy to spend more time with the doctor.
“No, that’s kind of you, Alex, but it’s not far.” She gave him a sheepish look. “I asked if you drove because I’d really like
to see your car. I always wanted a VW Bug when I was in high school, and my parents thought they weren’t safe. Did you
restore it yourself?”
“I did. The car belonged to one of my great-aunts. She bought it brand new back in 1960, but it was left in a shed for more
than twenty years. Working on the car gave me something to do while I worked on getting better after I came home.” Alex
shrugged. “I have a hard time driving any vehicle bigger than a small car. In it, I feel like I can see everything I need to. I know
it’s nuts, but I—”
His thoughts ran off track when Olivia took his hand between hers and held it, giving him an empathetic look.
“It’s not nuts, Alex. We all have our own ways of coping with trauma. If driving a small car makes you feel safe, then that’s
what you need to do.”
“Thanks for that.”
“I better get back before Stacy sends out a search party,” Olivia said, releasing his hand and glancing at her watch.
“Thanks for eating lunch with me, Alex. It was nice to get to know you a little better.”
“Thanks for letting me join you.”
“Anytime. Take care and give Dude a hug for me.” She took a few steps, then turned back to look at him. “Oh, and, Alex?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for your service. You are appreciated and valued more than you can know.”
Alex watched as she turned and hurried up the street.
He wondered what sort of spell she’d cast over him. He’d shared more with her over lunch than he had with anyone other
than Jay. To his surprise, and great relief, Olivia didn’t seem to think any worse of him for what he saw as his inadequacies.
Instead, she made him feel seen and like his life still mattered.
With a spring in his step that had been absent for a long, long time, Alex tucked the bag with the leftover cookies into his
pocket and walked home.
 Chapter Six

“H ave you seen the cute dog guy lately?” Stacy asked as she and Olivia put on their coats, ready to head home for the night.
Olivia thought about ignoring her friend’s question or dodging it, but Stacy was persistent, and Olivia never lied.
She tugged on her gloves and wrapped her scarf around her neck. “As a matter of fact, I ran into him at the deli earlier this
week.”
“And you’re just now getting around to telling me?” Stacy glowered at her as they walked outside and Olivia locked the
door to the clinic. “You know I’m never going to get into another relationship and am reduced to living vicariously through you.
I need details, Liv!”
Olivia laughed as they walked to their vehicles. Stacy’s car was parked beside her SUV, and they’d started them a few
minutes earlier so they’d be warm when they left for the evening.
“Not much to tell. We had soup and sandwiches, and he bought me a cookie.” Olivia opened the driver’s side door and set
her purse inside. “Besides, it’s too cold to stand out here talking. You can grill me about it another time.”
“I’ll hold you to that, Liv. Have a good night.”
“You, too.” Olivia slid inside the warmth of the SUV, pushed the button to turn on her seat heater, and blessed the person
who invented them. She knew she should go home and cook something for herself, but it had been a long week and she had
been craving pizza all day. Which was why she’d phoned in an order to pick up on her way home.
Although there wasn’t a festival that weekend, the town was already overflowing with tourists who’d come to enjoy the
wintery landscape. Pinehill still looked like Santa’s village, with lights and decorated trees everywhere.
Olivia took a back route to the pizza parlor but ended up having to park three blocks away. She thought about double
parking or stopping in the handicap zone since it would only take a minute to retrieve her pizza, but she wouldn’t break the law.
She pulled her scarf up over her nose and ears, then walked as fast as she dared on the icy sidewalk. Inside, the pizza
parlor was packed, and the noise level was so loud she and the woman at the hostess station had to yell to exchange the
information that she was there to pick up a pizza she’d already paid for.
It took a good five minutes before the woman returned with a pizza box. “Sorry about that!” she yelled and handed the box
to Olivia.
“Thank you!” Olivia shouted, then rushed outside. She’d taken only a few steps when she glanced across the street and
saw Alex walking with Dude.
“Hey, Alex!” He looked around, like he’d been lost in his thoughts, saw her, and waved. He waited until a car drove by
before he jogged across the street, Dude keeping step with him. The dog woofed and wagged his entire back end when he saw
her.
“Hi, Dude! How are you?” she asked, smiling at the dog and then at his handsome owner.
“If that’s your idea of a healthy dinner, I’m following whatever diet you’re on,” Alex said with a grin.
“I like pizza on Friday nights. It’s a habit, and one I have no intention of breaking.” She grinned at him. “You won’t tell on
me, will you?”
“Nope. I could tell you I picked up a pizza earlier before they got busy and took it home. All I have to do is reheat it when
we get there.” Alex took a step back. “I should let you go while the pizza is still hot.”
“Oh, yeah, I suppose so.” Olivia didn’t know what it was about Alex that drew her, but something certainly did. She
understood more now about why he was the way he was, somewhat reserved and withdrawn, but she sensed a goodness in him
—a kindness—that she found undeniably attractive. And that chin with the cleft in the center of it didn’t hurt anything either.
“Well, have a nice evening,” Alex said, moving another step back.
 “You too.” Olivia had no idea what had taken control of her brain and mouth, but they seemed to be working discordantly.
Instead of leaving, she took a step toward Alex. “Do you have plans tomorrow?”
“Plans? Tomorrow?” he asked. “No. Not really. Why?”
“I thought of something you might enjoy if you aren’t busy.”
“Okay. Is it inside? Outside?”
“Outside. Dress warm. Meet me at the deli at ten.”
Alex grinned. “With or without Dude?”
“Your choice. Either way is fine with me. Dude is such a good dog, I’m sure he won’t be any trouble if you want to bring
him along.”
Alex rubbed a hand over Dude’s head, then smiled at Olivia. She wanted to bask in the warmth of it, but forced herself to
step back.
“Thanks, Olivia, for the invitation. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“It’s a date,” she said, then blushed. Before she tripped over her tongue and embarrassed herself more than she already
had, she practically ran back to her SUV and drove home.
When she stopped at the mailbox at the end of her drive, her neighbor, Tony the barber, pulled up beside her. “You’re late
getting home, missy. You have a patient come in at closing time?”
Olivia knew he was only nosy because he worried about her and swallowed the sarcastic reply that wanted to work its
way free. “I stopped to pick up some dinner. Have a great night, Tony.”
“You do the same, Olivia.” He waved to her, then drove his old pickup up the short driveway to his house.
Plagued with guilt for not inviting him to join her, she thought about calling him or even taking the pizza to his house, but
she needed a quiet evening at home. She did feel bad for Tony, though. He’d adored his wife, Jeannie, and they’d been married
forty-one years when she died of a massive heart attack. She was gone before Tony could even dial 9-1-1. Olivia had been in
her last year of high school then, already thinking about becoming a doctor.
She knew Tony missed his wife every single day. He still spoke of her often. Olivia could almost feel his sadness when
any mention of Jeannie entered the conversation.
Tonight, though, Olivia planned to eat her pizza, watch an old movie, and go to bed early.
“Such a wild party girl,” she muttered to herself as she pushed the remote button and the garage door rolled up. She pulled
inside, grateful for the light that automatically switched on as she got out of the SUV and carried her purse and pizza inside.
Olivia had been slowly working on renovating the house that was built in 1958. The floor plan, with the additions her
grandparents had added in the late 1980s, was modern enough, but the kitchen cupboards and flooring were out of date, as
were the bathrooms. However, her first priority when she’d moved into the house her grandfather had left to her had been to put
on a new roof and siding since the old roof was shot and the siding looked like a peeling mess.
The new roof was guaranteed to last for thirty years, and the siding forty. She’d gotten a great deal on the siding because
someone else had ordered it, then changed their mind on the color. Olivia had liked the soft tan tone, and because of the amount
she’d saved on it, she’d hired a bricklayer to add cream-colored bricks around the entry and beneath the two front windows.
With new exterior lights that switched on as dusk approached, she never had to worry about coming home to a dark house.
Olivia left her coat on a hook in the back hallway, kicked off her boots, then went to the kitchen and set the pizza in the
oven. While it warmed, she slipped on a pair of fuzzy slippers, then grabbed her phone from her purse and sent a quick text
message. The reply made her smile and look forward to surprising Alex tomorrow.
She made a cup of hot tea, took the pizza from the oven, and slid it on a plate, then retreated to the family room where she
settled in to watch an old Doris Day movie.
When her eyelids grew heavy and she fought to stay awake, she took her dirty dishes to the kitchen, locked the back door,
turned out the lights, and went to bed.
The next morning, she awakened to light spilling into her room through the drapes she’d forgotten to close. She gasped as
she recalled inviting Alex to meet her and glanced at the clock. It was a quarter past eight. She never slept that late, but it had
felt so good to get a solid night of rest. She so often went to her home office when she got off work and reviewed patient files
or studied medical journals, keeping up on new techniques and medications late into the night instead of sleeping.
Olivia had become a doctor because she wanted to help people. That desire had never changed through the years, only
deepened.
For reasons she couldn’t begin to explain, she felt an urgent need to help Alex. She wasn’t even certain how to help him or
in what ways he needed assistance, but deep in her heart, she felt there was something she could do for him. She just needed to
figure out what it was.
As she hopped out of bed and jumped into the shower, she attempted to convince herself the anticipation buzzing inside her
at seeing Alex had nothing to do with spending time with the handsome man and everything to do with her duty as a doctor.
She fussed with her hair for longer than usual, carefully applied makeup she rarely wore, and changed her outfit six times
before she decided on a pair of dark jeans, a white cashmere sweater, and a deep red scarf. Too nervous to eat breakfast, she
drank a cup of tea, checked her watch every five minutes, then forced herself to calm down.
After gathering her phone and what she thought she’d need for the day, she pulled on a pair of knee-high boots and a
fleece-lined leather coat, made sure she had a pair of warm gloves, and went out to start her SUV. She concluded if she drove
slowly, she’d arrive in town without too much time to kill.
A dusting of snow had fallen during the night, leaving everything coated with a fresh layer of pristine powder. It would
have been a great day to go skiing if she hadn’t already made plans. Olivia parked in the parking lot of Sleigh Bell Tours,
owned by Bo Jensen, then walked back to the deli. Alex waved as he leaned against the side of the building with Dude sitting
at his feet.
“Good morning,” she said when she got close enough he could hear her.
“Good morning. You look … amazing.” Alex smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners, then motioned to the deli behind
him. “Do you want to get something to eat or drink?”
“Not yet. We’re about to have hot chocolate and cookies,” she said, giving him a saucy grin and turning back the way she’d
come. “It’s not far.”
“Want to tell me what we’re doing?” Alex asked as he fell into step beside her. Olivia made a point of walking on his right
side so he wouldn’t have trouble hearing her. Dude gave her an adoring glance as they strolled through the tourists already
crowding the sidewalk. She could sense Alex growing tense and placed a hand on his arm, hoping he’d realize she was there
as an ally and friend.
He looked down at her hand, then at her, and she could almost feel him relax.
“It’s just across the street,” she said as they waited for a few cars to pass before they walked through the intersection.
“Sleigh Bell Tours,” he said as he read the sign and they moved into line at the ticket booth. “They do sleigh rides?”
Alex stood in a defensive pose, feet spread apart, hands at his sides, as though he analyzed the area for any potential
dangers. The worst thing that would likely happen to them at Bo’s business was stepping in a road apple.
Olivia tried to think of what she could do to help him relax. She had worked with a few PTSD patients when she lived in
California, and knew crowds could be a trigger for them.
“Yes. My friend Bo owns the business. He’s a rancher and has a beautiful place a few miles out of town that has been in
his family for generations. He and his sister inherited it, but Sassy is away at college in Corvallis. She’s a freshman this year,
majoring in wildlife biology. I don’t think she’s ever met an animal she didn’t love. Sassy would adore Dude.” Olivia had no
idea why she was rambling, but it seemed to put Alex at ease. She’d babble all day if that was the case.
Alex patted the dog’s head. “He’s hard not to love.”
“The night we met, didn’t you mention something about someone else naming him?” she asked as they moved forward in
the ticket line.
“I did,” Alex said, looking from the ticket booth in front of them to the large warehouse building where Bo kept the
sleighs, wagons, and his horses.
“And?” Olivia prompted, hoping to keep him distracted. “How did you come to own Dude?”
Alex grinned and ruffled the dog’s ears. “I think it’s more like Dude owns me. His previous owner thought the batch of
puppies his dog delivered would make great service dogs. Dude was about four months old when they started some basic
training for him. The plan was to turn him into a seeing-eye dog. He excels at keeping his humans safe, but he was, to quote the
instructors at the program, way too friendly and nothing would ever completely take that out of him. He loves people and just
couldn’t understand the concept that he had to be on duty instead of welcoming attention. My … uh … my therapist heard about
him being a washout and suggested I meet Dude. I knew the first time I saw him he was coming home with me. My mother was
less than enthusiastic about having him at the house, but Dude won her over.”
Olivia bent down and made a kissy face to the dog as she scratched beneath his chin, getting her cheek licked in the
process. “How could anyone not love this sweet face?”
“Exactly,” Alex said, moving forward in the line.
Olivia realized it was their turn and smiled at Bo’s wife, Juniper, who was manning the booth.
“Hey, Juniper,” Olivia greeted the beautiful woman her former beau had wed last year. “Bo was going to put our names on
the list last night.”
“He’s got you all set.” Juniper smiled and punched a few buttons on an electronic tablet, then held out a card reader to
Olivia. “Your ride should be ready to go in a few minutes.”
Olivia tapped her credit card on the screen and offered Juniper a warm smile as she returned it to her wallet. “I really
appreciate Bo squeezing us in.”
“It’s our pleasure.” Juniper returned her smile, then gave Alex a long look. “I’m Juniper Jensen. My husband is the one
who looks like a grizzly bear over there in the black cowboy hat and gray wool coat. I hope you enjoy the ride.”
“I’m sure I will, Mrs. Jensen.” Alex shook the hand Juniper held out to him. “Thank you.”
“Call me Juniper. It’s really nice to meet you.” She released his hand and turned to help the next person in line.
Olivia slipped her hand around Alex’s arm and tugged him to where people were boarding sleighs. Three of them were
lined up, and they were already nearing capacity.
“Which one are we riding on?” Alex asked without any enthusiasm. In fact, he looked like he dreaded the thought of being
packed into the sleigh with a bunch of strangers.
“That one,” Olivia said, pointing to a small red sleigh trimmed in black set back from the others near the warehouse.
“Come on.”
She could feel the tension in Alex’s arm as she held it, as though his entire body was tightly strung with nerves. Perhaps he
thought they’d have to share the small sleigh with others, but that had never been her plan.
“Hey, Liv, it’s a beautiful day for a sleigh ride,” Bo said with a grin as he motioned to the sleigh pulled by a big brown
Belgian draft horse. “Bonnie is ready to go.”
“Hi, Bonnie, ol’ girl,” Olivia said, patting the horse on the neck as she looked at Bo. He was still as good-looking and
kind as he’d been all those years ago when they were in high school, although back then he hadn’t worn a full beard during the
winter months. Now, he seemed like a much happier version of himself since he’d fallen in love with Juniper. Olivia was
happy for him and for Juniper. They made an attractive couple and were such a nice one too.
“This is my friend, Alex Adams,” she said, making the introduction. “Alex, this is Bowen Jensen, better known as Bo, and
owner of Sleigh Bell Tours.”
“Nice to meet you, Alex. Olivia thought you might like to take a tour of Pinehill. She mentioned you’re staying in a cabin
for a few months.”
“That’s right. It’s nice to meet you.” Alex shook Bo’s hand, then glanced down at Dude. “Is it okay if my dog rides along?”
“Of course.” Bo took a doggy treat from his pocket and handed it to Alex. “Olivia mentioned you’d likely be bringing him.
As long as he doesn’t gnaw on the seats, it’s all good.”
Alex shook his head. “Dude has better manners than that.”
Bo laughed. “Is the dog really named Dude?”
“He is.” Alex gave Dude the treat, and the dog greedily crunched it.
“Shall we get going?” Bo asked, sweeping his hand toward the back seat of the sleigh.
Olivia took the hand Alex held out to her and climbed into the sleigh, grateful for the heavy fleece throw Bo had provided.
She saw the trademark basket of treats that held a thermos of hot chocolate and the special cookies Sassy and Juniper made.
Everyone who went on a sleigh ride got hot chocolate and cookies to enjoy. From what Olivia knew, the original recipe for the
cookies was developed by Bo’s grandmother. Or maybe it had been his great-grandmother. Regardless, the cookies were soft
and delicious, and Olivia couldn’t wait to eat them.
“Up, Dude,” Alex said, and the dog jumped in, settling at Olivia’s feet. She wouldn’t complain in the least about having
his extra warmth pressed against her toes. She should have worn snow boots, but she’d wanted to look nice for Alex. From the
glances he’d given her as she’d approached him, she thought perhaps he’d noticed the extra attention she’d given to her
appearance. The fact that she was trying to impress him was one she chose to ignore. It wasn’t like she intended to date him or
anything. Not when her focus was on her career, and Alex clearly had enough going on without adding a relationship to the
complicated mix.
Alex slid onto the seat beside her, trying to keep a respectable distance, but it was nearly impossible with the way the seat
curved up on the sides. It was like whoever built it intended for the occupants of the back to slide together.
Olivia shook out the throw, and it floated down, covering her lap and Alex’s, along with Dude.
The dog whined, trying to push off the throw. Olivia hurried to move it off his head, tucking it around hers and Alex’s legs.
“Settled?” Bo asked with a knowing grin. When Alex bent over to pat the dog, Bo winked at Olivia and she tamped down
the urge to swat him.
When she’d returned to Pinehill, one of the things she’d most dreaded was encountering Bo. Her abrupt and unexpected
departure all those years ago, and the way she’d ignored all of his efforts to get in touch with her, had hurt him. Their first
encounter had been at the home of Bo’s best friend, Ky Snow, who was known around town as Mr. Snowman. He and his wife
had run into Olivia at the grocery store just days after she’d returned to Pinehill and invited her to lunch. When she’d agreed to
attend, she’d had no idea Bo and Juniper, who he was just starting to date, would be there too.
But Bo, being Bo, hadn’t held any grudges toward her. In fact, when she’d finally worked up the courage to apologize to
him, he had told her everything worked out for the best and wished her well.
After that, she’d renewed her friendship with him and established one with Juniper. Although she didn’t often join them,
there were occasions when she happily hung out with them, as well as Ky and his wife, Sierra.
“I believe we are, Bo. Thank you.” She gave him a pointed look, and he smirked as he stepped into the sleigh and settled
onto the front seat that sat up a few feet higher than the back.
“Hot chocolate?” Olivia asked, taking the thermos from the basket and pouring a cup before Bo set the sleigh in motion.
“Sure,” Alex said, taking the cup she held out to him. When she poured a second cup, he held it while she put the lid back
on the thermos, then lifted the resealable bag of cookies from the basket on the floor.
“Cup holders?” Alex asked softly as he noticed the built-in holders on the sides of the seat.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 XXVIII.
Les derniers temps des libertés de
l’Ukraine.

La politique que Pierre le Grand avait suivie en Ukraine, aussi

bien que toutes ses entreprises en général, avaient été menées
beaucoup trop rondement pour que ses successeurs pussent les
continuer avec le même élan, que ne leur insufflaient pas, du reste,
les traditions plutôt prudentes et précautionneuses des hommes
d’état moscovites. Tout en conservant ses principes, ils les
adoucirent dans la pratique. Il faut noter surtout le règne de son
petit-fils, Pierre II, pendant lequel s’accusa un retour aux vieilles
traditions moscovites. Le collège petit-russien et les impôts introduits
sous Pierre Ier furent supprimés, on institua une enquête sur les faits
et gestes de Veliaminoff, l’Ukraine fut replacée dans le ressort du
ministère des affaires étrangères et, enfin, on donna l’autorisation
d’élire un hetman.
La liberté requise pour cette élection fut d’ailleurs purement
illusoire, car le gouvernement donna des instructions à son agent de
ne laisser élire qu’une personne de son choix, nommément Daniel
Apostol. La noblesse cosaque se soumit à ces vœux et élut le
candidat désigné, qui, à vrai dire, ne fut pas un mauvais hetman,
mais qui, au contraire, réussit à porter des améliorations dans
l’administration de l’Ukraine, en suivant les idées qui avaient animé
Poloubotok. Il n’arriva cependant jamais à rétablir l’indépendance du
pays dans la mesure d’avant 1722.
A son décès, le gouvernement russe ne donna pas l’autorisation
d’élire un autre hetman, mais un nouveau collège fut réinstitué,
composé de trois ukrainiens et de trois grands-russiens, avec des
droits égaux, au moins en apparence. En réalité le vrai gouverneur
de l’Ukraine, c’était le résident russe, le prince Chakhovskoï,
président de fait du collège. Par une instruction secrète, il était
chargé de surveiller les autres membres du collège, de les arrêter le
cas échéant à la moindre suspicion et en général d’agir d’après son
jugement même à l’encontre des termes de l’instruction.
Ayant ainsi carte blanche, Chakhovskoï en usa à sa guise. Par
exemple, il arrêta un jour toutes les autorités municipales de Kiev,
saisit leurs archives et en retira les chartes les plus importantes,
pour que dorénavant la ville ne fût plus en état de s’en prévaloir.
C’est le motif qu’il donna de son action au gouvernement. Il
considérait d’ailleurs ses façons d’agir comme trop bienveillantes et
conseillait d’écarter tout-à-fait les chefs cosaques du gouvernement
du pays et de le concentrer entre les mains d’une seule personne
(lui-même, évidemment).
Le gouvernement de Moscou tempérait l’ardeur de son
représentant, lui faisant toucher du doigt qu’après tout, les membres
ukrainiens du collège n’avaient aucune influence et que leur
éloignement pourrait « provoquer des doutes » dans la population.
D’ailleurs, le pouvoir moscovite lui-même ne se gênait pas de faire
intercepter et saisir la correspondance des ukrainiens les plus
influents, voire des membres du collège, comme cela arriva à
Lizohoub. Il destitua le métropolite, ainsi que les abbés de plusieurs
monastères, pour avoir omis de célébrer le Te Deum le jour de la
fête du tzar. Il suffisait de la moindre dénonciation d’un aigrefin
quelconque grand-russien, pour qu’on amenât un homme à
Pétersbourg, à la chancellerie secrète, d’où il ne sortait, même
innocent, que mutilé par les horribles tortures qu’il y avait subies.
 A la fin, terrorisée par un pareil système, la noblesse cosaque se
détacha de la politique active, achetant par cette complaisance la
sécurité de sa vie privée. Les cosaques ukrainiens souffrirent
horriblement dans les guerres contre la Pologne ou contre la
Turquie. Les paysans eurent à subir les logements des troupes
moscovites, les réquisitions exagérées de céréales, de bestiaux et
des moyens de transport. Cela amena l’Ukraine à la ruine. Voici ce
qu’écrivait, en 1737, le ministre russe lui-même, A. Volynsky :
« Jusqu’à mon arrivée en Ukraine je ne me figurais pas que le pays
fût dévasté à ce point et qu’une si grande quantité de gens eût péri.
Cependant, on envoie actuellement encore tant d’hommes à la
guerre, qu’il ne reste pas assez de cultivateurs pour qu’on puisse
ensemencer les terres. D’ailleurs il serait difficile de labourer, tant on
a réquisitionné de bœufs et tant il en est mort aux charrois… »
L’accession au trône de la tzarine Élisabeth (1741 à 1761)
apporta un certain soulagement à cette pénible situation. N’étant
encore que princesse, elle s’était éprise du bel Alexis Razoumovsky,
un de ces chanteurs que l’Ukraine, qui produit de belles voix,
fournissait à la maîtrise de la chapelle impériale. Elle l’épousa en
secret et lui conserva ses faveurs jusqu’à la mort, après l’avoir fait
maréchal et comte de l’empire romain. Il avait su inspirer à la tzarine
de la sympathie pour sa patrie. En 1744, elle visita Kiev, où elle fut
cordialement accueillie par la population et accepta gracieusement
une requête contenant les desiderata ukrainiens, notamment en ce
qui touchait l’élection de l’hetman.
La tzarine avait un candidat à cette fonction, en la personne de
Cyrille Razoumovsky, frère cadet de son mari. Il était alors très jeune
et se trouvait à ce moment à l’étranger pour se perfectionner dans
les belles manières. A son retour, il fut comblé d’ordres et de titres et
on le maria à une cousine d’Élisabeth. On décréta les élections et il
va sans dire que les officiers cosaques s’empressèrent de l’élire.
Cyrille Razoumovsky, qui devait être le dernier des hetmans, fut
installé en grande pompe en 1750. L’Ukraine redevint du ressort du
ministère des affaires étrangères, les fonctionnaires grands-russiens
s’en allèrent ; le régime d’avant 1722 était rétabli.
 Le nouvel hetman resta étranger à la vie ukrainienne : son
éducation et ses intérêts le retenaient à Pétersbourg, où il passait le
plus clair de son temps. Il ne se mêlait que très peu aux affaires et
laissait à la noblesse cosaque le gouvernement du pays. Les
relations qu’il avait dans les plus hautes sphères et l’influence de
son frère à la cour, firent que les autorités russes, tant civiles que
militaires, ne se risquaient plus à se conduire en Ukraine comme
elles l’avaient fait auparavant et que, par conséquent, l’autonomie du
pays, dans les limites qui lui avaient été reconnues, fut suffisamment
respectée.
La seule cause de discordes était la Sitche Zaporogue, retournée
de l’exil en 1734, comme nous l’avons vu, qui avait été aussi placée
sous l’autorité de Razoumovsky. Toute loyale qu’elle fût, ses mœurs
indépendantes, ses prétentions territoriales, ses tendances
démocratiques ne cadraient guère avec les idées moscovites, de
sorte que les motifs de querelle ne manquaient pas.
A part cela, la vie ukrainienne s’écoula assez tranquillement
pendant une vingtaine d’années (1744 à 1764). La noblesse
cosaque trouva la possibilité d’arranger les choses selon ses désirs :
ce travail, commencé sous Razoumovsky, se continua après lui et a
duré, en somme, jusqu’à nos jours. Là gît l’importance historique du
dernier hetman (1750–1764), malgré la parfaite insignifiance de sa
personne.
La société démocratique de la République Ukrainienne n’avait
pas tardé à se hiérarchiser sous le protectorat moscovite, déjà du
temps de Samoïlovitch et de Mazeppa. Cette évolution vers
l’oligarchie nobiliaire marcha maintenant à grand pas. On voyait se
réaliser la prophétie du roi de Suède que jamais la Moscovie ne
souffrirait sous son protectorat un régime de libertés politiques.
Bientôt du self-government de la démocratie ukrainienne, il ne resta
presque plus rien ; il ne se conservait que dans les plus basses
couches du peuple, dans les communes cosaques. L’assemblée
générale fut réduite à une fonction décorative, inévitable dans
certains cas, comme pour l’élection de l’hetman, qui, en fait, comme
nous l’avons vu, était nommé par le gouvernement russe. Ce que ce
dernier laissait à l’initiative des Ukrainiens était réglé par l’hetman,
soit de sa propre autorité, soit avec le concours des grands chefs, de
sorte que ce maigre restant de l’autonomie cosaque était passé
dans les mains de l’aristocratie.
Celle-ci, sous le nom de compagnons du « bountchouk [21] » et
de l’étendard, ou sous l’appellation de « compagnons illustres de
l’armée », formait une classe privilégiée, une noblesse héréditaire, le
« chelakhetstvo » comme elle se nommait officiellement, à l’instar de
l’aristocratie polonaise. Sous l’hetmanat de Razoumovsky, elle
s’appliqua à augmenter, à consolider ses droits de classe et à
raffermir sa mainmise sur l’administration du pays, tâchant de
s’approprier les privilèges de la noblesse lithuanienne et polonaise,
tels qu’ils étaient exposés dans les recueils juridiques en usage dans
la pratique judiciaire de l’Ukraine (Statut lithuanien et Droit de
Magdebourg).
[21] Insigne militaire, orné de queues de chevaux,
emprunté aux Tartares.

Nous avons déjà remarqué plus haut que, pour suppléer au

manque d’un droit ukrainien codifié, ces recueils, introduits sous la
domination polonaise, étaient encore restés dans la pratique
journalière. Quand, sous l’hetmanat de Daniel Apostol, des juristes
ukrainiens furent commis à l’effet de rassembler les monuments du
droit national pour les soumettre à la sanction du gouvernement
russe, ils se contentèrent de faire une compilation des codes ci-
dessus mentionnés. Cette œuvre, rédigée en 1743 sous le titre de
« Lois selon lesquelles s’exerce la juridiction chez le peuple petit-
russien », ne fut pas, il est vrai, sanctionnée par le gouvernement,
mais elle contribua beaucoup à consolider encore l’autorité des
principes qu’elle reproduisait. La noblesse ukrainienne s’habitua à
considérer sincèrement ses prescriptions comme la juste expression
du droit national, de sorte que, sous l’hetmanat de Razoumovsky,
elle les prit pour base lorsqu’elle s’efforça de réorganiser
l’administration.
 Ces principes se reflétèrent aussi dans la structure sociale. La
noblesse cosaque s’identifia à cette classe privilégiée dont parle tant
le statut lithuanien, ce code de la noblesse au XVIe siècle, elle se crut
intitulée aux mêmes droits en Ukraine, elle introduisit les mêmes
droits seigneuriaux sur les terres et sur les personnes ; les paysans
se virent dépouillés selon la lettre de la loi.
Ce régime de l’Ukraine de l’hetmanat pesa longtemps sur le pays
et plusieurs articles de ses prescriptions se sont conservés jusqu’à
nos jours dans le droit local des provinces de Tchernyhiv et de
Poltava.
A côté de l’Ukraine soumise à l’hetman, il y avait l’Ukraine
Slobidska, qui n’en était qu’une copie affaiblie. C’était l’ancien
territoire de colonisation ukrainienne, à l’intérieur des frontières
moscovites, ce qui constitue aujourd’hui le gouvernement de
Charkov et quelques contrées contiguës, appartenant à Koursk et à
Voronège. Nous avons vu comment s’y étaient établis,
principalement dans la seconde moitié du XVIIe siècle, les émigrants
de la rive droite du Dniéper fuyant le joug polonais. Ils s’étaient
organisés en « régiments » comme dans l’hetmanat, les chefs élus
les gouvernaient aussi, mais ils étaient soumis à l’autorité des
voïvodes russes, jugés d’après les lois russes et, en général, se
trouvaient dans une dépendance plus étroite de Moscou, puisqu’on
ne leur avait reconnu aucune autonomie. Cependant l’élément
ukrainien y était très fort, de sorte que ce pays devait jouer par la
suite un rôle considérable dans le mouvement national.
 XXIX.
L’autonomie de l’Ukraine finit par
disparaître.

La politique bienveillante ou pour mieux dire réservée de Moscou

vis-à-vis de l’Ukraine (qui n’arrêta d’ailleurs jamais le processus
d’incorporation) cessa complètement lorsque Catherine II monta sur
le trône. Les façons d’agir de Pierre le Grand étaient faites pour lui
plaire : elle trouva donc nécessaire d’uniformiser le pays et de
supprimer les droits particuliers dont pouvaient encore jouir certaines
provinces. Spécialement en Ukraine, elle était d’avis qu’il fallait « que
l’époque et le nom même de l’hetman disparût, qu’aucune nouvelle
personne ne fût désignée pour ce poste ». Et quoique Rozoumovsky
fût un de ses amis fidèles, elle saisit la première occasion de le
destituer.
Elle lui fut fournie par une campagne entamée dans le peuple, et
à laquelle l’hetman n’était sans doute pas étranger, pour faire signer
une pétition demandant que l’hetmanat devînt héréditaire dans la
famille de Rozoumovsky. Quoique cette supplique n’eût pas le temps
de lui être présentée, la tzarine s’empara de l’incident et mit l’hetman
au pied du mur, le sommant d’abdiquer, ajoutant que s’il ne le faisait,
il serait destitué tout de même, sans parler des désagréments qui
pourraient s’en suivre. Bien qu’à contre-cœur, il dut céder et, le 10
novembre 1764, Catherine publia un manifeste « au peuple petit-
russien », dans lequel elle portait à sa connaissance l’abdication de
Rozoumovsky. Pour récompenser ce dernier de sa docilité, elle lui
accorda une pension considérable et lui laissa en pleine propriété
les domaines immenses qui avaient été réservés pour l’entretien des
hetmans.
Ce trait de générosité fit une excellente impression sur la
noblesse cosaque, parce qu’elle se prit à espérer que les biens
attachés à la maintenance des autres fonctions (ce que l’on appelait
les « biens de rang ») lui seraient également adjugés en pleine
propriété, lors de la liquidation de l’autonomie. Ceci explique, au dire
d’un historien contemporain, pourquoi elle ne souleva parmi les
chefs aucune protestation sérieuse contre l’abolition de l’hetmanat. Il
en fut autrement de la population qui prit nettement position contre
ces changements, dans les cahiers rédigés trois ans plus tard pour
les députés à la « Commission pour la rédaction d’un nouveau
code ».
Cette fois l’abolition de l’hetmanat devait être définitive : jamais le
gouvernement ne parla plus d’élections. Il promit seulement
d’améliorer l’administration de l’Ukraine et entreprit de gouverner
provisoirement au moyen d’un nouveau collège, composé de quatre
ukrainiens et de quatre grands-russiens, avec un président et un
procurateur, tous deux également grands-russiens. A cette occasion,
des instructions furent données, pour que les membres siégeassent
pêle-mêle autour de la table et non pas, selon l’usage antérieur, les
Russes d’un côté, les Ukrainiens de l’autre, ce qui « inspirait aux
Petits-Russiens l’idée perverse de se croire un peuple tout-à-fait
distinct du nôtre ».
Le président de ce collège, comte Roumiantseff, qui portait le
titre de « général gouverneur de la Petite Russie », tenait en ses
mains le pouvoir, les autres membres n’étant là que pour la forme.
Dans ses instructions, Catherine le chargeait d’exécuter sans
défaillance son programme, de s’attacher à faire disparaître toutes
les particularités de l’Ukraine et de les remplacer par les lois et
coutumes de l’empire.
 Elle appelait particulièrement son attention sur certains défauts,
très regrettables à son point de vue, de la législation ukrainienne :
par exemple le servage ne s’y était pas encore complètement établi
et les paysans pouvaient passer des terres d’un seigneur à celles
d’un autre, ce qui n’existait plus depuis longtemps en Moscovie. Elle
trouvait inadmissible que les impôts russes n’y eussent pas été
introduits et que le trésor n’y puisât pas de revenus. Mais surtout elle
lui enjoignait de ne pas perdre de vue « la haine intérieure » que les
Ukrainiens nourrissaient contre la Russie, surtout dans la noblesse
cosaque, lui recommandant de la contrecarrer en discréditant cette
aristocratie aux yeux du peuple. Il suffirait de rendre clair à la
population que le nouveau régime lui apportait un soulagement
contre les injustices des seigneurs, pour gagner sa confiance, se
l’attacher et rendre impossible aux intellectuels ukrainiens de trouver
un appui dans le peuple, pour s’opposer au gouvernement russe.
C’était donc toujours la même manœuvre, d’en appeler aux
instincts démagogiques, chaque fois qu’il s’agissait de porter un
nouveau coup aux libertés du pays, car la noblesse tremblait d’être
exposée au courroux du peuple, trop longtemps excité par les
appropriations injustes de terres, les empiètements sur ses droits,
l’introduction arbitraire de prestations et de corvées. Et, cependant,
le régime russe, pas plus maintenant qu’autrefois, n’apportait aucun
adoucissement aux souffrances de la population. Tout au contraire,
plus l’Ukraine arrivait à ressembler à la Russie servile et arbitraire,
plus elle perdait de ces libertés dont les paysans avaient autrefois
joui.
Le programme de Catherine, loin de délivrer le menu peuple de
« la multitude des petits tyrans », comme elle l’avait promis, ne faisait
qu’aggraver la tyrannie. On introduisit la capitation russe et la faculté
de changer de domicile fut supprimée. Le servage prenait les dures
formes moscovites. En 1763, on interdit aux paysans de passer sur
les terres d’un autre seigneur sans l’autorisation de leur maître
actuel. Les grands propriétaires en profitèrent pour lier les paysans
davantage, et ces derniers, peu enclins à se soumettre, saisirent
aussi l’occasion de s’enfuir. Un ukase de 1783 défendit tout
changement de domicile, pour rendre plus facile la perception des
nouveaux impôts qu’il introduisait. Les paysans devinrent aussi
complètement liés que les serfs moscovites. Tout cela pouvait-il
gagner leurs sympathies au gouvernement de Moscou ?
Une autre partie de la population eut l’occasion de manifester ses
sentiments à propos des élections mentionnées plus haut, pour
envoyer à Pétersbourg un certain nombre de députés devant faire
partie d’une commission chargée d’élaborer un nouveau code des
lois de l’empire (1767). Non seulement la noblesse, mais les
cosaques, la bourgeoisie, le clergé, tout le monde exprima le désir
unanime que l’Ukraine fût gouvernée d’après les « articles » de
Bohdan Chmelnytsky, réclama l’élection d’un nouvel hetman et le
rétablissement de l’ancien régime.
Roumiantseff en fut fort irrité, lui, qui avait usé et abusé de son
influence pour écarter des vœux aussi désagréables au
gouvernement. Il ne se fit pas faute de faire passer à la censure les
cahiers d’instructions des députés et même de livrer aux tribunaux
ceux qui s’entêtaient dans leur opposition. La tzarine se montra plus
accommodante : elle conseilla à son trop fidèle serviteur de ne pas
prêter tant d’importance à « ces opinions surannées », comptant bien
que « le désir des titres et surtout des appointements » en aurait
raison avec le temps. Elle n’en continua pas moins de poursuivre
l’extirpation des libertés ukrainiennes.
Mais ce qui causa la plus profonde impression en Ukraine, ce fut
l’anéantissement, en 1775, de la Sitche Zaporogue, ce vieux foyer
de démocratisme et de liberté.
Comme nous l’avons dit, la Sitche Zaporogue, malgré les
témoignages de sa loyauté, était toujours regardé d’un œil
soupçonneux par les autorités russes. Il y avait trop de divergences
entre les points de vue et la question de territoire fournissait à tout
bout de champ un brandon de discorde.
Suivant les anciennes traditions, la Sitche Zaporogue considérait
comme son territoire exclusif les vastes contrées sur le Dniéper
inférieur qui formèrent plus tard les provinces de Katerinoslav et de
Kherson — le « territoire des libertés cosaques » comme on
l’appelait. Or, le gouvernement russe avait commencé, déjà sous
Pierre Ier, à y édifier « la ligne » des fortifications qui défendaient ses
frontières méridionales. Avec toutes sortes de nouveaux venus, il y
avait créé des colonies militaires, notamment avec des Serbes qui y
avaient immigré vers la même époque, formant la « Nouvelle
Serbie », dont les habitants s’étaient fondus dans la population
ukrainienne. Le gouvernement de Catherine II avait fait le projet de
fonder une « Nouvelle Russie » sur le littoral de la Mer Noire (nom
qui fut d’ailleurs donné plus tard officiellement au pays).
La Sitche n’était pas restée indifférente à la situation économique
créée par l’afflux de population agricole qui s’était produit dès que la
horde de Crimée eut cessé d’être d’un voisinage dangereux : elle
voulait cependant coloniser son territoire à sa guise et le garder sous
son protectorat, ce qui justement contrecarrait les projets de
Moscou. D’ailleurs l’esprit libéral et démocrate de cette république
cosaque était trop en contradiction avec les tendances autocratiques
et bureaucratiques de la Russie. Et cette contradiction ne faisait que
s’accentuer à mesure que le régime grand-russien pénétrait en
Ukraine.
Dans le territoire des « libertés zaporogues » s’étaient, en effet,
conservés les principes démocratiques. La Sitche était gouvernée
par l’assemblée de l’armée, comprenant tous les cosaques. On
procédait très souvent à l’élection des chefs, qui restaient sous le
contrôle permanent de l’armée. Toutes les richesses naturelles du
territoire étaient administrées en commun. La propriété privée des
terres n’existait pas et, en général, ce genre de possession était
réduit dans la Sitche au strict minimum. Les ménages privés et
même la vie en famille étaient considérés comme une altération de
la pureté des principes. Les cosaques zaporogues formaient dans la
Sitche des communautés ou « kourines », dans lesquelles tous
mangeaient à la même marmite, versant leur écot à la caisse
commune, chacun suivant ses moyens. C’était donc une confrérie
militaire ukrainienne (les Zaporogues se nommaient entre eux
confrères). Du reste, depuis longtemps, les historiens ont fait
remarquer les analogies qui existaient avec les ordres de chevalerie
de l’occident.
Au milieu du dépérissement général des idées démocratiques en
Ukraine, alors que la noblesse asservissait les paysans et les
simples cosaques, à mesure que les distinctions entre les classes se
creusaient de plus en plus, la Sitche Zaporogue, inébranlable dans
ses traditions, devait constituer un reproche vivant pour la noblesse
cosaque et pour la Russie qui favorisait cette évolution
aristocratique. Les milliers de jeunes gens, qui allaient passer
quelques années à la Sitche, pour y respirer l’air des steppes et
participer aux expéditions organisées par les Zaporogues
(haïdamaks), en rapportaient cet esprit de liberté, qui ne laissait pas
s’éteindre complètement les traditions des ancêtres dans l’hetmanat.
C’est pourquoi la république du Dniéper restait chère aux cœurs
ukrainiens et c’est aussi ce qui devait sceller sa perte dès que
Catherine II eut pris la résolution d’exécuter ses plans jusqu’au bout.
A la fin de la guerre avec la Turquie, dans laquelle les
Zaporogues avaient rendu d’éminents services, des détachements
russes furent envoyés secrètement sur le territoire de la Sitche, afin
de désarmer les cosaques, qui, ne se doutant de rien, avaient repris
leurs occupations du temps de paix. Tout à coup les divers postes
cosaques furent assiégés par des forces russes bien supérieures,
munies d’artillerie et le 5 juin 1775, la Sitche elle-même se trouva
cernée. On somma les Zaporogues de rendre les armes et de quitter
la Sitche et les steppes, faute de quoi ils y seraient contraints par la
voie des armes.
Les cosaques surpris ne savaient à quoi se résoudre. Pierre
Kalnychevsky, leur « kochovy » (président de la république), finit par
les persuader que toute résistance était impossible et qu’il fallait se
rendre. La Sitche fut détruite de fond en comble, car le décret de la
tzarine portait qu’elle devait être rasée au point que « le nom même
de cosaques zaporogues soit anéanti ». Leur territoire fut divisé en
immenses domaines, qui furent distribués aux seigneurs russes. Les
chefs cosaques, en dépit de la loyauté qu’ils avaient témoignée à
l’empire, furent jetés dans les horribles cachots des monastères.
Kalnychevsky vécut encore trente ans, complètement isolé, dans
une affreuse casemate du monastère de Solovki, près d’Archangel.
Il ne mourut qu’en 1803, à l’âge de 112 ans.
On avait imposé aux cosaques de se faire inscrire comme
paysans ou citadins, ou bien de s’engager dans les régiments de
« piquiners » (cavaliers armés de piques, lanciers). Mais ils
préférèrent s’enfuir en Turquie, où ils fondèrent la nouvelle Sitche
non loin des embouchures du Dniéper et du Dniester.
Rien n’empêchait plus le gouvernement de Catherine II de mener
à bout son entreprise néfaste, de supprimer les institutions
cosaques. Un ukase de 1780 établit dans l’hetmanat le système de
division en gouvernement, qui régnait en Russie. Déjà, en créant les
gouvernements de Nouvelle Russie et plus tard celui d’Azof, on y
avait englobé le régiment de Poltava et une partie de celui de
Myrhorod. Les autres régiments eurent maintenant le même sort.
Le collège petit-russien et le tribunal général étaient supprimés
un an après, avec l’administration des régiments ; leurs bureaux
devaient exister encore quelque temps pour mener à bonne fin les
affaires en cours.
En 1783, on abolit les unités militaires cosaques qui furent
transformées en régiments de carabiniers, tout comme les unités
cosaques de l’Ukraine Slobidska avaient été transformées en
régiments de hussards. Les cosaques formèrent une classe de
paysans libres, obligés au service militaire dans ces régiments. La
noblesse cosaque obtint les mêmes privilèges et organisation que la
noblesse russe. La bourgeoisie des villes et la population agricole
furent soumises à la même législation que les classes moscovites
similaires. Ce qui restait de l’indépendance du clergé ukrainien
disparut en 1786, lorsque l’on s’empara au profit du trésor des biens
des évêchés et des monastères. On fit pour ces derniers un
règlement qui fixait le nombre des moines que chacun d’eux pouvait
abriter et les appointements qu’ils devaient toucher de l’état. Les
évêques et le clergé régulier furent dès ce moment complètement
dépendants du gouvernement de l’empire.
 XXX.
L’Ukraine occidentale et l’Ukraine de
la rive droite du Dniéper.

L’histoire de l’Ukraine orientale, dans la seconde moitié du XVIIe

siècle et dans le courant du XVIIIe, a pour un moment occupé notre
attention, et nous y étions obligés parce qu’en effet c’était là que,
dès le temps de Sahaïdatchny, s’était fixé le centre de gravité de la
vie non seulement politique mais aussi intellectuelle de la nation.
A Léopol, que nous avons vu, à la fin du XVIe siècle, rassembler
autour de sa confrérie les éléments nationaux de l’Ukraine
occidentale, ces éléments se sont peu à peu polonisés ou ont
disparu. Sans parler des classes supérieures, cette forte
bourgeoisie, qui avait été le noyau de l’organisation ukrainienne, a
dépéri. Dans le cours du XVIIe siècle, par suite de la politique à vue
courte de la noblesse polonaise, l’importance économique de la ville
alla en s’affaiblissant. La population eut beaucoup à en souffrir,
surtout l’ukrainienne qui s’évertua toujours en vain d’obtenir des
droits égaux à ceux de la bourgeoisie polonaise et ne parvint jamais
à pénétrer dans l’administration municipale, pas plus que
l’aristocratie ukrainienne n’était admise à gouverner le pays. Aussi
les plus énergiques se mirent-ils à émigrer, comme c’était le cas
pour tous les pays ukrainiens de l’occident, et allaient se plonger à
l’est dans le tourbillon des luttes politiques et nationales, où ils
pouvaient prêter à la cause le concours de leurs forces, et aussi
acquérir de l’influence, du pouvoir ou simplement de la fortune.
A Kiev, nous l’avons vu, le mouvement national et progressif se
trouvait, au temps de Sahaïdatchny, entre des mains galiciennes, qui
avaient fortement contribué à le créer. Plus tard, jusque dans le XVIIIe
siècle, nous rencontrons dans toute l’Ukraine orientale une foule de
noms venus de Galicie ou de l’Ukraine occidentale, soit parmi les
cosaques, le clergé, la bourgeoisie ou les paysans ; la colonisation
ukrainienne s’enrichit de l’affaiblissement de l’occident.
La confrérie de Léopol nous offre un exemple de ce
dépérissement. Elle fonctionne encore, mais dans un cadre toujours
plus restreint. L’école, qui avait été son principal ornement, cesse
tout à fait vers le milieu du siècle. Sa contribution à l’éducation
publique se borne à imprimer quelques livres, pour la plupart des
livres religieux, qu’elle débite dans tout le pays. C’est pour elle une
source de revenus, aussi tient-elle à en conserver le monopole. Mais
dès lors Kiev était redevenu le foyer de la vie ukrainienne, et
l’occident ressentait profondément tout ce qui le séparait de cette
ville.
Ce fut le cas lorsque le territoire ukrainien se trouva scindé par
suite de la paix conclue entre la Pologne et la Moscovie. Cette
dernière trahissait ses coréligionnaires, elle les livrait malgré leurs
protestations et leur colère, pieds et poing liés, à la Pologne. Plus
tard, la mise de l’archevêché sous la suffragance du patriarche de
Moscou, à l’encontre des vœux de la population ukrainienne, rompit
presque les rapports ecclésiastiques et intellectuels. Les Polonais en
profitèrent pour introduire dans le pays l’union des églises. A partir
de ce moment, l’Ukraine occidentale et l’Ukraine orientale suivent
des chemins différents ; celle-ci cède de plus en plus aux influences
russes, l’autre va se polonisant.
Quoique le pays n’ait pas accepté l’union de Brest-Litovsk, la
Pologne continua obstinément à vouloir catholiser l’église orthodoxe
en Ukraine occidentale. Les édits de tolérance de 1632 avaient, il est
vrai, reconnu l’existence légale de cette église à côté de l’église
uniate, mais le gouvernement n’était point satisfait. En 1676, la diète
polonaise défendit sous peine de mort aux personnes appartenant
au rite orthodoxe de se rendre à l’étranger ou respectivement
d’entrer dans le pays, d’entretenir aucune relation avec les
patriarches de leur église et de soumettre à leur jugement leurs
affaires religieuses.
L’évêque de Léopol, Joseph Choumlansky, un ancien uniate, qui
n’avait adopté l’orthodoxie que pour obtenir son diocèse, se
chargea, avec d’autres candidats à l’épiscopat (J. Vynnytsky, V.
Cheptytsky) d’aider le gouvernement à soumettre la population
orthodoxe à l’union et de l’isoler de toutes influences étrangères. On
s’empressa de l’investir de la fonction de métropolite pour tout le
territoire polonais et on ne distribua plus de postes ecclésiastiques
que sur la recommandation de Choumlansky et de son entourage à
des adhérents de l’union. On imposa encore d’autres restrictions aux
orthodoxes, par exemple on leur interdit, de par la loi, d’occuper des
fonctions municipales.
Par ses agissements cauteleux Choumlansky parvint à affaiblir à
un tel point l’élément orthodoxe qu’il ne craignit plus de jeter le
masque et de se déclarer ouvertement avec ses collaborateurs pour
les uniates. L’édit d’union fut proclamé dans le diocèse de
Peremychl et quelques années plus tard (1700) dans celui de
Léopol. Choumlansky dut s’emparer de force de l’église de la
confrérie. Les confrères eurent beau protester, il les força de
capituler ayant établi provisoirement pour leur faire concurrence une
imprimerie dans le but de les évincer du commerce des livres
religieux (1708).
Quelques années après ce fut le tour du diocèse de Loutsk de
tomber dans les mains des uniates, qui imposèrent leur église à la
population. Dans le cours de la première moitié du XVIIIe siècle, toute
l’Ukraine occidentale qui se trouvait sous la domination polonaise
fut, presque sans exception, soumise à l’union.
 Déjà dans le même temps on l’introduisit au delà des Carpathes,
puisque ces pays dépendaient du diocèse de Peremychl. Ils avaient
vécu, au XVIe et XVIIe siècles, dans une liaison spirituelle étroite avec
la Galicie, vivant de sa civilisation et de sa littérature, comme le
prouvent les documents de l’époque. L’échange de population entre
les deux pays était resté assez actif.
Cette Ukraine d’au delà des Carpathes, coupée de profondes et
nombreuses vallées, dont les rivières coulent vers le sud, avait une
population que la configuration du sol reliait aux centres méridionaux
magyares, roumains ou slovaques, au lieu de l’unir et de favoriser la
formation de centres intellectuels qui lui fussent propres. Deux
monastères célèbres concentraient la vie religieuse : Saint Nicolas
de Mounkatch et Saint Michel de Hrouchev dans le district de
Marmaros. On donnait comme fondateur au premier le prince
Théodore Koriatovitch. Ce neveu d’Olguerd, expulsé de la Podolie
par Vitovte (1394), avait obtenu l’administration du district de
Mounkatch et puis était devenu gouverneur de Bereg. Dans les
cervelles de ces montagnards ukrainiens, habitants d’une contrée
pauvre en évènements et en personnalités historiques, il se forma
plus tard une légende qui attribuait toutes sortes de choses à ce
personnage d’importance. La colonisation ukrainienne même,
quoique bien antérieure à son époque, aurait été établie par lui au
delà des Carpathes. C’est lui qui aurait fondé une partie des
institutions nationales, entre autres le monastère de Mounkatch.
Dans ce monastère on trouve des évêques indépendants dès le
XVe siècle, mais le diocèse ne fut organisé que beaucoup plus tard.
Les paroisses faisaient partie du ressort de l’évêché de Peremychl.
La population, du reste, dépourvue de tous moyens d’instruction,
avait continué de croupir dans l’ignorance et était fort peu au courant
des subtilités religieuses. Il semblait donc qu’il serait facile de la
gagner à l’union. Dans la deuxième moitié du XVIIe siècle, sur le
désir d’un des seigneurs locaux (un magyar bien entendu, car ici les
Ukraines n’avaient point d’aristocratie), l’évêque de Peremychl fit
proclamer l’union par le clergé qui dépendait de lui. Mais les
populations tenaient extrêmement au rite orthodoxe : n’était-ce pas
par là que se manifestait leur âme commune ? N’était-ce pas la
marque de leur nationalité ? Une véritable insurrection éclata ; les
paysans, armés de fourches et de bâtons, chassèrent les uniates et
ainsi ce premier assaut contre leurs croyances fut repoussé.
Mais le premier pas était fait. Les seigneurs et le clergé
catholique, loin de se tenir pour battus, employèrent toute leur
habileté à gagner les évêques et les prêtres locaux à l’union, en leur
promettant des droits égaux à ceux des prêtres catholiques et
l’affranchissement du servage, auquel les membres du clergé
orthodoxe étaient soumis, comme en Hongrie et assez souvent
même en Galicie. Dès 1649, ce genre de propagande avait fait de
nombreux prosélytes et cette même année l’union pouvait être
proclamée formellement à Oujhorod. La résistance des populations
était cependant loin d’être vaincue ; ce ne fut que vers 1680, lorsque
l’administration autrichienne eut pris solidement pied dans la Hongrie
orientale, que l’union put se propager assez rapidement dans les
comitats de Bereg, d’Uzhorod (Oujhorod) et de Zemplin. A dire vrai,
ce ne fut pas tant par la persuasion qu’elle fit des progrès que par la
pression exercée par les fonctionnaires autrichiens, les peines
édictées contre les relaps, sans mentionner l’usage fréquent de la
force armée.
Néanmoins, au XVIIIe siècle, la partie occidentale de l’Ukraine des
Carpathes pouvait être considérée comme complètement soumise à
l’union. Seule la partie orientale (les comitats d’Ougotcha et de
Marmaros) résistait encore, parce qu’elle subissait les influences
venues de la voisine Moldavie, pays orthodoxe et dont la partie
septentrionale, connue plus tard sous le nom de Bukovine, était
peuplée d’Ukrainiens. Jusqu’en 1735, il y eut dans ces comitats un
épiscopat et plus tard encore des prêtres orthodoxes, ordonnés par
les évêques moldaves ou serbes. En 1760, il se déchaîna là dans la
population ukrainienne et roumaine un mouvement contre l’union,
assez sérieux pour inquiéter le gouvernement autrichien de Marie-
Thérèse.
Mais la lutte religieuse et nationale acquit sa plus grande
intensité sur la rive droite du Dniéper, par suite de la façon dont ces
pays avaient été repeuplés.
En exécution du traité avec la Pologne, le gouvernement russe,
vers 1714, ramena au delà du fleuve l’armée restituée des
cosaques, aussi bien que la population civile, de sorte que la rive
droite du Dniéper et le bassin du Bog redevinrent le champ de
l’expansion religieuse et nationale de la Pologne. Les descendants
des familles polonaises qui avaient dû quitter ce pays à l’époque de
Chmelnytsky, y revinrent maintenant, ou bien y envoyèrent leurs
agents, pour organiser les villes et les villages, où ils attiraient les
colons des contrées plus densément peuplées. Comme 150 ans
auparavant, commencèrent à y affluer des multitudes de fugitifs de
la Polissie, de la Volhynie et de la Galicie, se flattant d’y trouver la
liberté, et dans moins de vingt ans ces espaces dévastés se
couvrirent de fermes et de villages, au milieu desquels se bâtirent
les villes, les résidences des seigneurs, les églises et les
monastères catholiques.
Lorsque la colonisation fut devenue assez dense, la noblesse
recommença à exploiter la population, en lui imposant de lourdes
redevances et de pénibles corvées, et aussi, comme 150 ans
auparavant, l’exaspération éclata contre l’oppression, contre les
privilèges et la domination polonaise. Le souvenir de l’organisation
cosaque, des insurrections populaires et de la liberté, n’était pas
encore éteint et l’on brûlait de les faire revivre. Cependant le
gouvernement polonais, instruit par de si cruelles expériences,
s’était bien gardé de rétablir les anciennes organisations cosaques,
de sorte qu’il n’y avait pas de cadre qui pût coordonner et régulariser
le mouvement populaire. Mais à chaque fois que des cosaques ou
des soldats russes paraissaient dans le pays, ils étaient sûrs d’y
trouver l’aide et la sympathie de la population et l’insurrection était
déclenchée.
Ces mouvements, qui se réduisaient souvent aux exploits de
bandes, composées moitié de pillards, moitié de rebelles, comme
celles qui ne cessèrent sous la domination polonaise de parcourir
l’Ukraine occidentale pendant près d’un siècle, trouvaient ici un
terrain plus favorable, prenaient des proportions plus considérables
et s’enflaient jusqu’à donner lieu à ces sortes de guerres populaires,
qui ont rendu célèbre le nom des haïdamaks [22] .
[22] Mot turc qui désignait ceux qui participaient à ces
expéditions.

La Sitche Zaporogue, dès l’instant qu’elle se fut réinstallée sur

son ancien territoire, devint le foyer principal de la rébellion.
En 1735, lorsque, par suite de l’interrègne en Pologne, les
troupes russes entrèrent dans ce pays, on s’imagina dans le peuple
que l’Ukraine de la rive droite allait être réunie avec l’Ukraine de la
rive gauche et que les seigneurs seraient chassés. Il n’en fallut pas
davantage pour faire éclater une insurrection, qui fut d’ailleurs
réprimée par ces mêmes troupes russes, saluées en libératrices,
mais qui, après avoir replacé Auguste III sur le trône,
s’empressèrent, à la demande de ce dernier, de tourner leurs armes
contre les Ukrainiens.
Cela se répéta encore, mais sur une plus grande échelle, en
1768, lorsque, sur la demande du gouvernement polonais, les
Russes franchirent de nouveau le Dniéper pour mettre à la raison les
seigneurs révoltés. De nouveau les Ukrainiens se figurèrent que
l’armée russe était envoyée pour les délivrer du joug des Polonais et
il courait de bouche en bouche que la tzarine avait, par « un
manifeste d’or », fait appel à la population, afin qu’elle exterminât les
polonais et les juifs, à cause des torts qu’ils avaient causés à la
religion orthodoxe.
A la tête du mouvement des « kolyi » était un cosaque zaporogue
du nom de Maxime Zalizniak. Le point culminant de l’entreprise fut la
prise d’Oumane, place des mieux fortifiées, dans les remparts de
laquelle s’étaient réfugiés une multitude de polonais et d’israélites.
Un centurion de la garde du magnat polonais, Ivan Honta, passa aux
insurgés, devint un de leurs chefs et ce fut grâce à lui que Oumane
fut prise. Quelques autres villes et forteresses, toutes pleines de
fuyards, furent également détruites. Ces succès furent de courte
durée : les troupes russes, revenant de châtier les seigneurs
polonais, ne tardèrent pas à défaire les rebelles. Leurs chefs furent